


Life and Luck

by KristannaFever



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Angst in places, But lots of fluff, F/M, Kristanna, Modern AU, Will have a happy ending of course, and a strained relationship with her sister, firefighter Kristoff, sugar mama Anna
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:27:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 46,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22976134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KristannaFever/pseuds/KristannaFever
Relationships: Anna & Kristoff (Disney), Anna/Kristoff (Disney)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

The bus was almost full and just about to leave. Kristoff was thrilled that the seat beside him was still empty. He hated having to travel by bus and he hated having to side beside someone even more. The distain was somewhere up there with working all day with wet socks.

The doors slid shut and he did not hold back his smile. He sighed, relieved, then settled himself against the window shutting his eyes, determined to grab a few Z’s on the way. 

The bus had just started to rev up and move when it suddenly lurched to a stop. Kristoff’s eyes flew open just as the bus doors did.

A panicky little redhead with twin braids scrambled onto the bus, huffing her apologies to the driver. Kristoff looked at all the rows ahead of him, suddenly very panicky himself. No empty seats. He threw a glance over his shoulder. Only one by the bathroom and another about half way up. What were the chances she’d sit in one of those?

_Please, please not next to me. Please…_

Her eyes scanned the rows looking for an empty seat and she just so happened to look in Kristoff’s direction.

_Please…_

The woman plopped herself down in the seat next to him and buckled herself in. Kristoff had to turn his face towards the window to hide his involuntary sneer. This was just his luck. The only reason he was on this goddamn bus in the first place was that his truck was sideswiped parked on the street in town the day before and he had an important job interview on Friday. Shit luck. That was Kristoff’s MO.

It all started when he hurt his back on the job. He was not an idle person and going on disability had almost driven him insane. He was however, at least able to use the time to figure out just what the hell he was going to do with his life now that the only thing he’d ever known was over. 

He looked into the requirements and took all the courses, passing with flying colors. He was all set for the next step. The only thing he needed, was an opportunity. 

Yet every single place he’d applied with had told him that they needed someone with more job experience. They needed someone a little more seasoned. They needed someone who wasn’t him, essentially. 

And now he was stuck on the bus beside someone who was bouncing her knees up and down so fast beside him that she was shaking both of their seats. This was going to be one long trip. He heaved a heavy sigh and leaned his head against the cold glass, shutting his eyes again, resigned to do what he did best and try to ignore what irked him (because _everything_ seemed to irk him).

“Um, excuse me?”

Kristoff’s eyes opened at the sound of her voice, but he could not bring himself to move. The last thing he needed, the absolute last thing, was someone who was going to talk his ear off the whole way. Shit luck indeed.

He made himself turn to look at her. “Yes?” he said, trying to keep the annoyance from his tone. 

“I, uh, sorry to bug you. You wouldn’t happen to have a pain killer, would you?”

Kristoff shook his head, taking a good look at her face for the first time. She sure had big eyes. And wow were they ever blue. He also hadn’t noticed until just then, that her cheeks and nose where sprinkled with freckles.

“Okay, thanks anyway, and sorry to bother you,” she said, offering him a smile of kindness that gave him pause.

“S’okay,” he mumbled as she turned around to the elderly lady sitting across the aisle from her and repeated her question. The old woman dug into her purse and produced a tiny white pill that she held out to his seatmate. 

“Thank you so much!” The redhead was saying. “I have such a bad headache and I couldn’t find anything to buy at the gas station across the bus depot and I almost missed the bus!”

“No problem dear,” the old woman smiled. “I’m glad I was able to help and that you made it back in time.”

The petite woman beside him pulled her purse from her feet onto her lap and rummaged through it, bringing out a bottle of water. She swallowed the pill and Kristoff realized he was staring at the curve of her neck as she tiled her head back to drink.

He turned his eyes back out the window, telling himself to mind his manners.

She fell still and Kristoff was actually able to close his eyes for a minute. He thought about his job interview and how important it was. He wondered if this was maybe his last chance. If this didn’t work out, he might have to look into to something else. All he knew was that he needed to figure something out, and soon. His savings were gone and he didn’t even want to think about how high his credit card bills were getting. He had been ignoring them, not wanting to acknowledge how big the hole he seemed to find himself in truly was.

He was just about dozing off when she started to fidget beside him. _Figures_. He had begun to hope that after twenty minutes of quiet that she’d actually remain that way for the rest of the trip, but something about her seemed to suggest that she couldn’t sit still any better than he could. He supposed he’d be fidgety too if he wasn’t so dog tired. He hardly slept at all the night before, worrying over how he was going to afford to fix the body of his truck.

He opened his eyes and pulled his head from the glass to look forward. He noticed that out of the side of his vision that her face was pointing towards the window and she was leaning slightly towards him. He dared take a quick side-eyed glance at her face to see that she was looking at the sky.

Kristoff turned his gaze out the window and realized it had started to snow.

“Gosh, I hope the roads are okay.”

She said it so quietly that Kristoff didn’t know if it was directed at him, or if she was muttering to herself. He wanted to just ignore it and shut his eyes again, but there was something in the tone of her voice that brought his eyes over to her again. Her face matched her worried inflection.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” he offered.

Her concerned expression did not relax. “I just hate driving in the winter. That’s why I’m on the bus, but I’m still nervous. These roads are just so scary.”

Kristoff nodded. They could get hairy indeed. Many times he’d had close calls. More than he’d actually like to admit. “These buses travel all the time. The drivers know these roads like the back of their hands,” he said, trying to ease her tension.

She nodded, but still looked worried. She leaned back in her seat and shut her eyes, twisting her hands together in her lap.

Kristoff found himself staring again. Her profile was a pleasing one to look at and he truly always had been a sucker for a girl with freckles. A kink of his, he supposed. He suddenly wondered what her hair would look like undone, cascading down her bare back.

He blinked, a little surprised with himself. He looked back out the window and the growing flurry of flakes. It was starting to snow heavier and the sun was just about to set. He wondered how cold it was supposed to be on the top of the mountain. With the more recent warm temperatures, a follow up of snow and cold could be a deadly combination on the roads.

“So, are you heading to Hope, or Vancouver?”

Kristoff turned. She was looking at him, hopeful, and his heart seemed to twitched in his chest. It was a weird feeling. 

“Vancouver,” he said, suddenly not minding a little friendly chit chat. “How about you?”

“Same,” she smiled, visibly relaxing that he was willing to talk to her. “I am visiting my sister for a couple of days.”

“That sounds nice,” Kristoff smiled.

“I haven’t been back to Van in a long time. Are you going home there?”

“No, I live back in Kamloops. I’m going for a job interview tomorrow.”

“Oh, that’s great. I’ve been wanting to move back there for a while now. I love Kamloops, but it hasn’t been the same for me ever since… well, I’m sure you don’t want to hear my life story,” she laughed nervously. 

“Well,” he said, hoping he wasn’t going to regret it, “If you want to talk, I have an ear to listen and not much else to do,” he smiled, and hope it looked friendly.

She smiled back at him, and there was something about it that relaxed him. 

“That’s very nice of you, thanks! I get so nervous on these roads in the winter.”

“So you mentioned.”

“Right,” she turned her eyes down and her hand came up to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. 

Kristoff realized she was blushing and his heart twitched again, harder this time. 

“So, tell me about wanting to move back to Vancouver?” He offered quietly, suddenly wanting to know more about her.

She brought her eyes up to his and started talking. Kristoff was surprised actually that someone could talk so much. She told him all about meeting a man she thought she was going to marry, about leaving her home with her sister to move to Kamloops with him. She explained that she was so happy when he proposed, then not a week later, found out that he was cheating on her. That was two years prior she told him, and while she always wanted to go back home, she liked the snow in the winter and the high heat in the summer, and the wonderful change of all the leaves in the spring and fall. She liked seasons, and Kamloops was unlike Vancouver, where the only seasons were summer and rain. She said she wanted to enjoy it for a while, so she stayed. She loved living there, but she also thought it might be time to go home. She missed her sister and the coast and the salty smell in the air and, yes, she missed the rain too, because she loved to curl up by a window with a hot chocolate and read a book on such days. Romance stories were her favorite, but she also adored the classics, and she dabbled in a little bit of poetry now and then.

Kristoff learned more about her in an hour than he ever had ever learned about anyone else in his entire life.

The reason she stopped talking, and Kristoff had to wonder later if it was the _only_ reason she stopped, was that her frequent glances out the window had finally caused her enough concern to distract from the story she was telling. She leaned forward in front of him to look out, only a few inches from his face.

“Wow, that looks pretty bad out there,” she frowned, her brow creasing with worry as she sat back in her seat.

Kristoff looked out the window to see that it did indeed look bad. The snow was fierce and the traffic was steady. They had just passed the summit of the Coquihalla pass - somewhere just over 4000 feet above sea level – and were going down the steep incline that would take them to Hope.

“It’ll be fine,” Kristoff smiled.

“God, I hate the Coq,” she said with a frown, crossing her arms and leaning back in her seat. “One of the most dangerous roads in North America you know.”

“Yeah, I heard that somewhere.”

She nodded and fell silent a moment before her hand flashed out in front of him. “I’m Anna by the way,” she was smiling again.

“Kristoff,” he shook her hand. 

“Well it’s nice to meet you, Kristoff.”

“Likewise.”

Her eyes flicked out the window again. “Boy, I will be so happy when we get there,” she sighed heavily and reached down to her seatbelt. “Excuse me,” she muttered, taking to her feet and walking towards the bathroom in the back. 

Kristoff found himself smiling. Sitting beside her hadn’t been shit luck at all. Maybe it was a sign that things were finally going to pick up, because there was something about Anna that made him feel good. Made him feel… hopeful.

\-----

Anna sat back down in her seat, more than happy that Kristoff had turned out to be friendly and easy to talk to. He had very kind eyes and Anna found herself a little taken by him. The fact that he was wearing one of those tight, long-sleeved, grey sweaters that hugged every curve of his muscles might have a lot to do with that, but she thought it was more because of his face. He was very pleasing to look at. Very handsome.

“So anyway, enough about me, what about you?” she smiled, hoping that he was still up for some more conversation.

“Not much to tell, I’m afraid,” he shrugged with a bit of a smirk playing out on his lips.

“Oh, I refuse to believe that!” She gave him a playful elbow to the arm which elicited a big smile that delighted her to no end. His face changed when he was smiling. When she first looked at him as she clamoured on the bus, she was a little intimidated to be sitting beside someone who looked so miserable, then as soon as he started talking to her, his face softened. Showing the real him, she suspected. She wondered what it was that had made him look so down and she intended to find out. They still had a way to go and what better way than by killing time learning a little more about this gorgeous man she found herself next to.

“Well,” he said, eyes turning upward in thought. “I grew up in-“

It all happened so fast. The bus lurched violently and the first thing that went through Anna’s mind as soon as she heard the crunching of metal, that was she had forgotten to put her seatbelt back on. Strangely enough, she had time to blame it on being distracted by Kristoff and his hotness. The next thing she realized, as her ass left her seat, was that she was probably going to die. 

She shut her eyes, gripped with panic and terror and wondered how much it was going to hurt, as the bus turned around them. That’s when two solid steel bars clamped around her, yanking her back into the seat. They jarred to a stop and she felt gravity pull on her the wrong way. Her eyes flew open to realize the bus was on it’s side and she was looking down into the carnage where people lay scattered on the other side; the side that had come to rest against the snow-covered ground. 

What had saved her? What kind of safety feature had managed to pull her back to her seat? That was when she realized that her seat was very warm and breathing heavily into her ear. She looked down to see two large, grey-clad forearms clamped around her breasts and belly. 

She turned her head to look into wild brown eyes. He was straining to hold her and himself up, suspended only by the belt across his waist. His legs were straight and wedged under the seats in front of them, straining with effort to hold them in place.

Anna looked down. The elder lady and the young man she was sitting next to were slowly getting to their feet. The young mom with her teenage daughter who were sitting in front of her and Kristoff were now on the wrong side of the bus, struggling to recover from having fallen in the aisle and against the seats across the row.

People were crying and some were groaning with pain. A little girl in the back somewhere was screaming.

Anna felt lightheaded. 

“You’re okay,” he grunted in her ear, bringing her back. 

His grip on her was impossibly tight and she could barely get the words out. “Are _you_ okay?”

“Yeah.”

Anna looked down to see the young man helping the elderly lady up. She could hear glass breaking and she assumed that people were trying to get themselves out of the overturned bus. 

“What do we do?” she squeaked out, turning her face sideways to try and look at Kristoff.

“Can’t set you down until they clear out below us,” he grunted. His legs were starting to shake with fatigue. 

Anna looked down again. There was blood trickling down from under the young man’s ball cap and the elderly lady was shaking, weeping and limping as he was helping her try and scramble over the seats. It looked like they were headed to the front of the bus. Anna waited until they were clear before she turned her head again and told Kristoff that he could let her go.

He nodded and relaxed his grip. Anna instinctively pulled in air as he did so and grabbed the rigid forearm that he offered her to lower herself down. As soon as she was standing on the edge of the seats across, she moved ahead and out of his way. She could see people in the front of the bus, trying to make their way out of the windshield where the glass had been broken away. She glanced behind her as Kristoff lowered himself down. People in the back were slowly coming forward and some were climbing up and out of the windows that now faced the sky. Anna suddenly realized how cold the air was.

“Come on,” he said, grabbing her arm lightly to help her forward. “Let’s get out of here.”

Anna nodded and looked quickly around for her purse. She spotted it, wedged under the seat the young man in the ballcap was sitting in.

Getting out was slow. They stopped to help a dad with two young kids get out safely, passing them to him through the broken windshield. Kristoff then helped Anna get through before he turned around. 

“Anyone need help?” he called out.

The response was a mix of “We’re okay’s” and soft crying, but no one called for help. Kristoff shimmied himself out into the snow and stood at the front of the bus, helping others get out. Anna watched stupidly, stunned, until she heard a child cry somewhere off to her right.

She turned to see a little boy in his mother’s arms. She was sitting in the snow with a dazed expression. Anna went over to them, kneeling on the ground. 

“Are you okay?” she asked.

The mother blinked and her eyes suddenly came into focus. “Oh, yes, I think we’re okay.” 

Anna nodded. “If you need anything, I’ll help you okay? Just shout for Anna.”

The woman nodded, grateful, and turned her attention to her distraught child. 

Kristoff came up behind her just as Anna got to her feet.

“Are you okay, Anna?” His eyes were with rampant with concern. 

“Yes, actually. Not a scratch. What about you?”

“I’m good.”

They stood together, snow falling silently with chaos all around them. Some people were trying to scramble back up the bank to the highway where they could see the mess of Semi’s and other vehicles. Families were holding each other and sobbing. There was one person looking after the driver who appeared to have broken his arm.

Anna suddenly realized how narrowly she had escaped the near same fate of her parents.

She looked back up at Kristoff’s face, and when he looked down at her, she lost it. She welled up with frightened and relieved tears and clung to him as soon as he pulled her into his chest. His arms wrapped firmly around her, warming her, keeping her safe. His chin came down to rest lightly on the top of her head and Anna thanked her lucky stars that she was sitting beside him, because she was sure that Kristoff had saved her life.


	2. Chapter 2

“Here,” Kristoff said softly, handing out a Styrofoam cup with hot chocolate in it. 

“Thanks,” she muttered.

Anna was watching him closely as he went to sit down. He tried not to let the stiffness in his back show, but he had a feeling that she noticed. 

She sipped on her hot chocolate and fell silent for a minute. Kristoff thought about the ordeal they had just been through.

He had held her, standing on the side of the mountain, until she had composed herself. Even then he didn’t let her go. He only loosened his grip when she pushed gently from his arms and asked what they could do to help people. He told her they would do what they could and he kicked himself in gear. He didn’t tell her, but he had been trained for that sort of thing after all. Anna followed him all over the place as he checked on people from their bus, before scrambling up the bank to the highway. 

He had gone from place to place, assisting where he was needed. He helped an off-duty police officer from the other more mangled bus, get people out. Anna was beside him the whole time, helping. He admired her willingness and ease to help anyone and everyone in any way that she could.

When the first responders finally arrived, Kristoff stepped back to let them work.

It took some time before they were loaded onto another bus when emergency crews had cleared the scene. They were then driven the remaining 25 or so km into Hope where they were taken to a ‘warming centre’ which was nothing more than a bunch of cots and folding chairs set up in a high school gymnasium. 

EMT’s were going around checking everyone for injuries and volunteers kept a steady stream of coffee carafes and food - mostly donuts and sandwiches - flowing in. Kristoff and Anna had found themselves a couple of seats and sat in quiet reflection until Kristoff suggested getting them something warm to drink. 

There was not much else they could do besides sit and wait.

Kristoff looked at his watch, wondering if he was going to make it to his interview. His chances did not look good.

Anna heaved a shaky sigh beside him. Without thinking, he lifted his arm and settled it around her shoulders, pulling her against his side. 

“When can we leave?” she asked, pushing further into him.

“Paramedics have to give us a once over, then we’re free to go. If we have means to go, that is. I have no idea when they are going to get another bus back on track to head out to Vancouver.” He started down into the black coffee in his cup and wondered what was going to become of all this.

“We could rent a car.”

“Sure,” he said, trying not to think about how over-drawn his finances were. He doubted that his credit card would go through if he tried it. All he had was a small wad of cash in his wallet. He realized suddenly how desperately he needed this job. It gave him a sense of crushing despair to understand he probably wasn’t going to make it to the interview.

Anna pulled herself from under his arm and scanned the room again before settling her eyes back on his. “So, will you tell me about yourself now? Since we have time to kill?”

“I don’t know, Anna,” he was about to say he didn’t really feel like talking, but there was something in her eyes that suggested she needed the distraction. “Well, okay, what do you want to know?”

“What do you do for a living?”

Of course that would be the first thing she asked. He sighed, “I was a firefighter for seven years.”

“Was?” she asked after a pause.

Kristoff nodded. “Had a call for a house fire one night and I went in to help the father of the family who had gone back in to look for the cat. I got him out safe and was just about to follow when I heard the stupid thing meow somewhere behind me. The crew had the fire mostly under control and I spotted him under a couch not five feet away, so I went to get him. But the house was ancient and the floor gave way under me. I fell down into the basement and broke my back in two places.”

“Oh my god,” Anna’s free hand flew up to her mouth as her eyes teared up.

“My crew got me out, thank god, and I went to emergency. First and only time I’ve ever been in an ambulance,” he was suddenly caught up in memory. He hadn’t thought about that night in such a long time. Didn’t want to really. If only he’d been smart about it and left the cat. The creature came out on his own anyway after Kristoff had fallen through the floor. The only reason Kristoff went back in the first place was that father had been babbling endlessly about how much that cat meant to their five-year-old daughter. Kristoff wished he would have chose differently, then he would not be in the mess he found himself. That was the first piece of bad luck in a series of events that had changed his life forever. 

Anna’s warm hand on his arm brought him back and he pulled in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. 

“The doctors didn’t think I’d ever walk again,” he continued. “But I fought hard and I did walk. It was months and months of physio until I got most of my strength back.” He gave her a weak smile. “I tell you though, I’ll definitely be feeling stiff from the crash tomorrow.”

“I can imagine that you have some lingering issues,” she said quietly.

He nodded. “That’s why I never went back on the truck. I was too scared I wouldn’t be able to do the job properly and it would cost me my life, or worse, someone else’s.”

“Oh Kristoff,” Anna said softly.

Kristoff gave her a smile of reassurance. “It turned out okay. I’m alive and I can walk, and that’s the main thing. I’m thankful for that, every day.” He shrugged. “Now my back usually only hurts when it rains.”

“And you’re trying to get a job in Vancouver where it rains all the time?” she asked. 

Her eyes widened with apology when she realized what she had said. She opened her mouth to say something, when Kristoff chuckled to put her at ease.

“I’m trying to get into fire investigation, because I still love the job. Van is pretty much the only place I could even get a serious interview.”

“Really? How come?”

“Well, more years on the job is more experience. Even though I’ve taken all the courses, most places are still looking for someone who’s seasoned, you know?”

“Well, that’s unfair.”

He shrugged. “That’s life, unfortunately.”

Anna nodded, suddenly very solemn. She sipped on her hot chocolate and fell silent. Kristoff wondered if maybe he said something wrong. He was about to ask when someone appeared in front of them, asking if they could make sure they had no injuries.

As soon as the paramedic confirmed that they were good, he pointed them to a volunteer who was helping people arrange further travel accommodations. Anna grabbed her purse and looked up to Kristoff in question. He nodded, seeing that she was not ready to leave his side. That at least, gave him comfort.

They were told that another bus would be continuing on to Vancouver first thing in the morning and that the bus line was covering everyone’s accommodations for the rest of the night. They were then asked to leave a description of their luggage and their name and cell number to be contacted when the things were retrieved from the bus. 

Kristoff found himself outside, Anna beside him, unsure of what to do.

“Did you want to rent a car Kristoff? I know you have that interview.”

His shoulders slumped and he turned his eyes to the ground. He was too far into this mess to try and hide it. Might as well just come clean. 

“To be completely honest with you Anna, I don’t think I can afford it.”

Her silence seemed to stretch on forever until he felt something warm in his palm. He looked over to see her hand in his. When he brought his eyes up to her face, she was smiling softly. 

“How about we make a deal. I’ll pay for the car, as long as you drive the whole way.”

“That’s not a very fair deal to you,” he said.

“Well to me it’s an even trade, because honestly, I can’t drive myself. Too scared.”

What was it about her that seemed to lift him up? He wanted to spend more time with her, so why not drive her the rest of the way.

“Okay,” he said, letting himself smile at her. “Deal.”

She smiled back. “Alright then, let’s get to Vancouver.”

\-----

“Are you sure it’s okay if I stay with you and your sister?” he asked for the hundredth time.

“Yes,” Anna laughed. “I told you, there is more then enough room. Besides, when I told her what happened, she said she wanted to meet you.”

“Why?” his upper lip twisted into a faint sneer.

“Because you saved my life.”

He laughed, rich and full. “I did no such thing.”

“Yes, you did,” Anna said, lifting her chin in defiance. There was nothing that was going to convince her otherwise. “Oh, turn left!”

Kristoff wrenched the wheel and turned the car down the next street. He leaned forward and looked up and out the windshield. “So, you mentioned that you and your sister both own the apartment?” he asked.

“Uhhum,” Anna hummed. It was an apartment, in a manner of speaking. “Although I more or less just consider it her place now since I moved to Kamloops. Even if I move back here, I plan on eventually finding a place of my own.”

“And you’re sure there’s enough room for me? I don’t want to put anyone out.”

“Kristoff, if you ask again, I’m going to get angry,” she crossed her arms across her chest even though she was grinning at him.

“You know,” he said, smirking, “I’d like to see you get angry. I’ll bet your pretty feisty when you’re mad.”

Anna laughed, and he joined her. When was the last time she had laughed like that with someone? There was something about Kristoff that was very fun to be around and she was dying to spend more time with him. She was absolutely ticked that he’d accepted her invitation to stay with her.

“Oh, right turn here,” she said, reminding herself to pay attention.

Kristoff smashed the brakes and cranked the wheel, almost coming up on the curb. He chuckled, “Maybe a little more warning would be nice?”

“Sorry,” Anna giggled. “Okay, so two blocks up, you’ll turn into a parkade okay?”

“Okay, just tell me before I’m hallway past the turn this time.”

Anna giggled again. “Will do.”

A minute later and she guided Kristoff into the parkade under her family’s building. She got him to drive up to the electric gate and got out of the car to key in the code. One she was settled back in her seat and the gate was open, she guided him to park in one of their many stalls.

If he understood why they were parking in their own area, he never said. Anna was pretty sure he didn’t assume much of it at all. She led him over to the solitary elevator and they got in. Kristoff was looking around the luxurious box as Anna turned her key in the slot and pushed one of the only three buttons available. 

“Wow, nice elevator,” he said, eyes finally coming down to the buttons. He looked at them a moment, blinking. “What the…” he muttered, eyes narrowing. 

Anna wasn’t sure what to say, to try and explain, so she said nothing.

“Um, Anna?”

“Mmmm?” she looked at him and raised her eyebrows with complete innocence.

“Why is there a P beside that button?” he said, leaning in closer to her.

“Well, it’s for my sister’s place.”

“You said she lived in an apartment. You didn’t mention anything about a penthouse.”

She shrugged. “Well, she does. So what?”

Kristoff stared at her a second before he straightened, an unreadable expression taking to his face. It was so unlike the first time she’d invited her ex-fiancé over. He had been practically salivating to learn that her and her sister lived in the penthouse of their father’s building. She should have known back then, what kind of man he was, but she’d just been too naïve; too completely taken with his attention to see past his false charm.

But that was then and this was now, and she was only looking at her future. The past only served to teach and she learned her lesson well. Kristoff was the furthest thing from that monster of a man she thought she’d fallen for. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Kristoff was kind, honest and good hearted. It had taken them two hours to drive the rest of the way to Vancouver and they had learned many things about each other in that time. The conversation was so good in fact, that it was the fastest two hours of Anna’s life.

She was delighted to learn more about Kristoff, like his upbringing on the Island in Nanaimo. He was adopted into a loving household where he was able to finish growing up with other kids. He was the youngest of four, but he told her that they always accepted him and treated him like he was their own flesh and blood sibling. 

A year out of high school, he went to Kamloops to further pursue his firefighting career when there was a need during bad forest fires one summer, and he never left. He bought himself a little fixer-upper cottage on the base of the mountain just outside of town and built himself a life.

He loved his job. He loved hiking, swimming and canoeing in the many lakes around the area. He played ball with members of the fire department during their down time. He liked to cook for the boys at the fire house. He didn’t even own a television. He loved to read and play guitar instead. 

Then he had broken his back and all that had changed.

The elevator doors opened to a large foyer with marble floors. Anna stepped into the space right away while Kristoff hesitated behind her. He didn’t move until she turned around to look at him, then he walked slowly up to her.

“You okay?” Anna asked.

“I, uh… yeah.”

Anna did not like the fact that he looked so uneasy. 

“Anna!”

They both turned as Anna’s sister walked into the foyer. Elsa was dressed in a crisp white pant-suit with stilettos to match and a baby blue blouse underneath. Her heels clicked with an echo against the marble floor as she walked straight to her sister and pulled her into a hug. Anna was quite surprised to receive the affection.

“I’m so glad you weren’t hurt,” Elsa said in her ear.

Anna wasn’t sure what to say. When was the last time her sister had given her a hug? It seemed like eons ago. It was nice however, even if the only reason Elsa was being comforting was because she was happy that Anna didn’t get injured, or worse, in the accident. 

“Elsa, I’d like to introduce you to Kristoff,” Anna said when her sister released her, standing aside as Kristoff stuck out his hand. “Kristoff, this is my sister Elsa.”

Elsa walked up to him and looked down at his hand. She hesitated a second, but she did shake it.

“Thank you, Kristoff,” Elsa said, dropping his hand quickly. “Thank you so much.”

Kristoff mumbled that he didn’t do anything, his cheeks flushing a deep pink. 

“Come on in,” Elsa said, walking further into the penthouse in her long, confident strides.

Anna turned to follow her sister when she noticed Kristoff bend down. She looked back to see he was removing his shoes. He seemed to frown at his feet and Anna noticed one of his socks has a hole in the toe. When his eyes met hers, he wore his embarrassment openly, and Anna’s heart went out to him.

“You don’t have to take your shoes off, Kristoff,” Anna smiled. “My sister has a cleaning staff.”

He suddenly looked like was worried over what he got himself into, even though he still managed a small smile. 

“Ma would kill me if she knew I was wearing my shoes in anyone’s house.”

Anna laughed. “Okay then, come on in.”

She could feel his presence close behind her as she walked into the penthouse. The foyer opened into an expansive sitting area, decorated with modern art and the highest quality contemporary furniture. Anna had preferred her mother’s decorating touch to Elsa’s. Her sister liked things to look clean and sterile, so most of the décor was white. To Anna, it looked rather uninviting, but she was a firm believer in _each to their own_.

Elsa could be heard handling crystal in the large chef’s kitchen. Anna walked to the window and Kristoff let out a low whistle behind her. The view had always been her favorite and she knew how spectacular it was. 

When she was a little girl she’d always sneak out of bed to watch the cruise ships sailing up the Strait of Georgia, all lit up and shimmering beautifully on the open water. She used to fantasize about what it would be like to be on one of those massive ships, standing on the deck in the cool air, staring out at the cities they passed in the night. She imagined it was romantic and she always liked to think that she’d enjoy the view with her lover someday. She had asked her ex about going on one once and he had simply sneered at her and told her not to be silly, that she could afford to charter a private yacht instead.

That wasn’t the point of course, but he never understood that.

“When is your interview?” Anna asked turning around.

Kristoff looked at hit watch. “Just under two hours. And thanks again for renting the car. I would have missed it if I had to wait for the new bus.”

Anna smiled at him. “No problem.”

He smiled back, but it was distracted. Almost… sad.

Anna knew it was a lot to take in, to understand what kind of background she had. She had told him that she ran a little coffee shop back in Kamloops. He hadn’t asked then how she had the capital to start it up in the first place, probably didn’t even cross his mind, but he was certainly thinking about those things now. She could see it in his eyes and she knew full well it was making him nervous.

“Come on, let’s sit a bit,” Anna offered as Elsa came back into the room with three glasses of orange juice on a tray. 

The glasses were perfectly lined up and all filled to the same height. Elsa set the tray down in the middle of the coffee table, adjusting it slightly so that it was straight. After a quick appraisal, she selected the middle glass and straightened, gesturing for Anna and Kristoff to help themselves.

“Thank you,” Kristoff mumbled, taking a glass but not a seat.

“Sit down Kristoff, please,” Elsa offered, sitting herself in the single armchair and crossing her legs.

“Um, I’m just going to stand if that’s okay.”

“Why?” Anna asked before she could stop herself.

Kristoff eyed the pristine white couch. “My jeans got a little dirty when we were helping people outside of the bus…” he trailed off with a small shrug.

Anna suddenly realized that he had nothing with him but the clothes on his back. His luggage was still trapped inside the bus and he had a very important interview in a few hours. He was looking at going to it in his dirty jeans, a grey sweater and a pair of scuffed work boots.

Anna shot up from the couch and grabbed Kristoff’s hand. “Come on,” she said. She thought he’d hesitate, but he went with her willingly, setting the glass on the coffee table as Anna dragged him past it. 

She led him down a wide hallway and through a pair of double doors at the end. He didn’t say anything at realizing they were in a bedroom, but she felt his hand stiffen in hers ever so slightly. She took him over to the far end where another set of French doors stood and opened them to reveal a walk-in closet.

Kristoff was gaping when Anna turned around to look at him. 

“Pick something out, Kristoff. My Dad wasn’t quite as tall or nearly as built as you, but you should be able to find something that would work.”

“Anna, I…” he was still looking around in awe and shaking his head. “I couldn’t…”

“Sure you can!”

“Your Dad… won’t mind?” he gulped.

Anna had forgotten that she hadn’t yet told Kristoff what happened to her parents and obviously he had missed her use of past tense. She couldn’t blame him. Shew knew the first time anyone stepped into their world it was a lot to take in.

“He passed away,” she said quietly. “Sorry, I guess I never mentioned that.”

His face fell. “Oh Anna, I am so sorry.”

“It was a long time ago. He and my mother went off the road in bad weather and they didn’t make it. I guess that’s why I have such a hard time driving myself anywhere in the winter. Especially on the Coq.”

Kristoff didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. He did what she’d wished so many times someone would do, even her own sister. He put his arms around her and hugged her.

Her arms came up and around his broad back as he tightened his embrace. Being in his arms made her feel safe and protected, and Anna would have cried had she not been painfully aware of his body pressed to hers. She didn’t yet know all there was to know about him, but she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was starting to fall for him.


	3. Chapter 3

Kristoff stared at himself in the mirror wondering what kind of luck he’d happened to find himself in now.

Here was this amazing woman; kind and beautiful and smart… and fucking _loaded_. He wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t know how to feel about finding out that Anna had money.

After getting to know her better on their drive to Vancouver he had been planning on asking her on a date while they were in the city. But that was before he knew she lived with her sister in a penthouse that was ten times the size of the house he grew up in. He wondered just how much money she had. From what he had seen so far, it was staggering wealth.

His eyes flicked in the mirror to where the clothes hung on the back of the door behind him. He did appreciate some clean things to wear to his interview to make a good impression, but he was a little weirded out about wearing Anna’s Dad’s clothes even thought she assured him that they were new and never worn.

What the hell kind of life must these people have lead? Anna told him that her father and mother never wore an outfit more than once and everything in their closet was brand new. She said they made sure their once-worn clothes were donated to worthy causes, but still. Kristoff was in a shirt he’d had for nearly a decade and wore more than once a week… without washing it. His closet at home was sparse, to say the least. He only had two pairs of shoes and his work boots.

Anna’s Dad had an _entire wall_ of unworn shoes.

None of which he fit in. He was about five sizes too big to squeeze into any of the fancy footwear though Anna assured him he wouldn’t have to wear his grimy work boots to his interview. He wasn’t exactly sure what she meant by that, but he had a feeling that by the time he finished his shower, he would find out.

He sighed and walked over to turn the water on. Easier said than done. He wasn’t dumb when it came to plumbing, but the fancy knobs in the shower had him guessing. He soon discovered that aside from the dinner plate sized rain showerhead, the walls were equipped with numerous body spray nozzles, and there was a hand shower mounted by the huge glass door. 

He got in when it was warm and washed himself, not bothering the all the fancy settings. Since when did showers become more complicated than simply running water over your head anyway? 

It felt good to have the hot water run all over his body. He shut his eyes and relished in it for a minute. Showers at home had to be quick due to the age of his water heater that he could not afford to replace. He didn’t realize until then how much of a luxury a lengthily hot shower really was. 

He stayed in longer than he knew he should, simply enjoying the warm steamy air in relative silence. The only sounds were running water and his own breathing. Even his mind slowed down to savor the environment. 

He swore he could have even fallen asleep for a half a second. He inhaled deeply, knowing he needed to get the hell out of the shower and over to his interview. He hoped that the fatigue wouldn’t show. He had planned on finding some motel 6 near the bus depot to grab a cheap room for the night so he could get out in the morning, refreshed. Instead, he’d spent his night on the side of a mountain road in the snow, sitting in a high school gymnasium then driving the rest of the way to Van himself.

With Anna…

His eyes opened and he turned off the shower, stepping out and realizing the bathroom was so big that he’d have to walk over to the towel rack on the opposite wall. He stepped carefully, not wanting to slip and break his leg - or his back again, heaven forbid - and grabbed a towel with annoyance, drying himself off with haste. 

Then he was looking at himself in the mirror again.

He liked Anna. He liked her a lot. She was everything that he was not. 

He hated himself a little bit for wishing that she didn’t sit beside him when he first laid eyes on her. Where would he be then if he’d sat the whole trip alone? Certainly not in Vancouver and certainly not about to spent the next couple nights in a lavish penthouse.

He was extremely nervous when Anan brought up him staying a few extra days with her and her sister, and the only reason he didn’t say no immediately was that he was a little taken with her. He thought that it would be fun to bomb around with Anna for a few days and it would be great to have some free accommodations while he was enjoying getting to know her better.

But now he found himself surrounded by things so expensive that he was afraid to touch them, sitting on the couches included.

Kristoff scrubbed his hands down his face, knowing full well he was running out of time. He rummaged through the drawer that Anna told him all the brand-new toiletries were in and put some deodorant on. He brushed and flossed his teeth and gargled with mouthwash for good measure. Then he slipped into the dress shirt that was too tight and covered up the straining buttons with a sweater vest that was snug across his chest. There was nothing he could do about the pants however. The waist was okay while the length left a little to be desired. He hoped that the high hems would go unnoticed. 

One more once over and Kristoff figured he was as good as he was going to get. 

\-----

Anna left Kristoff to shower and get ready for his interview. 

First, she went to find Kai and asked him to run an errand for her. After she did that, she called the restaurant and asked them to add another plate to the table for the dinner they had planned that evening. Anna had no sooner hung up the phone, when Elsa was approaching her. 

“I wish you would have asked me first.”

“About bringing him to dinner tonight? Are you kidding?”

“No, about him borrowing our father’s clothes.”

Anna looked at her sister, incredulous. “Elsa, he needs something to wear. His backpack with all his clothes is probably still on that bus.”

“You know how I feel about disturbing our parents things.”

Anna fought the desire to roll her eyes. “Elsa, those were brand new clothes. The tags were still on, Dad never wore them. You know that.”

“Still. We don’t even know him.”

Anna could not believe her ears. After all their arguments in the past, after Elsa promising Anna that she would have more of an open mind when Anna moved away, she was ready to pull this shit again. 

“I know him,” Anna said quietly. “That’s all that matters.”

“Anna, I know _you_ , and I know how you get ahead of yourself. Just please, be careful.”

Anna knew her sister cared about her, but she refused to get into the subject with Elsa again. Plus, she knew Elsa just probably needed to say it out loud to make herself feel better. Anna decided to leave it at that and to not say anything more, as long as Elsa didn’t bring it up again. She changed the subject instead.

\-----

Kristoff emerged from the bathroom and wandered down the wide hall to where he heard Anna talking quietly. He came upon her and her sister talking by the glass doors that opened to the massive balcony that looked over the ocean and Vancouver Island. He hesitated when he saw them in what looked like a tense conversation. A moment later Anna looked over and noticed him standing there, she smiled wide, giving him enough confidence to walk over to her.

“I was just telling Elsa that you’re looking into fire investigation,” Anna said. “We could put in a good word in for you with the fire chief. Our father was close personal friends with him.”

Kristoff didn’t know what to say. He wanted to thank her for her kindness and that her she was overstepping her boundaries at the same time. He had never been one to accept any recognition that he did not earn himself. Getting a recommendation from a wealthy family felt like a cheat. 

He opened his mouth to say so when she must have read it on his face.

“Maybe not then,” she smiled. “I know you’ll get this anyway.”

All he could do was smile awkwardly in return. 

He followed her to the elevator and was about to put on his work boots when Anna gently cleared her throat behind him. He turned to see her standing beside a hall bench with a white box sitting in the middle of it.

“Shoes,” she said. “I told Kai the size you gave me, so I hope they fit.”

“Kai?”

“The butler.”

Kristoff stared, at a complete loss for words.

Anna cleared her throat gently. “The place is just right across the street, so we could run over and switch them quickly if they don’t fit.”

He didn’t know what else to do, so he walked over in his brand-new dress socks and opened the box.

Inside was a pair of dark down Oxford’s that looked more expensive than his truck. 

“Woah,” flew out of his mouth before he could stop it. He looked up into Anna’s happy wide eyes and was suddenly struck with just how just how difficult this was going to be. 

She blinked at him, waiting.

“Anna, these are… too much…” he looked at the expensive shoes again. “I can’t, I mean I wouldn’t…” Small hands gripped the tops of his and his words died in his throat. 

“Please, Kristoff.”

He brought his eyes to hers, surprised by the tenderness he saw in her gaze. He felt that hopeful feeling bubble up inside of him again and suddenly recognized that it had nothing to do with his current situation. He could have been stranded on the side of the road with Anna trying to hitch their way to Van, for all he cared. As long as she was in his presence, he simply understood that things were going to be okay, that nothing life could throw at him would take away that feeling she gave him when he was close to her. 

Money be dammed right? He would eventually earn his own. He would make sure he would pay his own way; always had and always would. That would never change, so what did it matter if Anna came from money. It didn’t. If she was still willing to be with him despite everything, then hell, money didn’t matter in the slightest. From the moment he told her he couldn’t afford to rent a car, she had not treated him with any sort of difference than she had before. That to him, was worth more than the entire buildings weight in gold.

Plus, he had every intention of paying her back.

“Thank you, Anna,” he pulled her into a hug. “Thank you so much.”

\-----

What was it about Kristoff hugging her that made Anna weak in the knees? She didn’t want to leave his embrace. She wanted to live in it, because she knew it was the best place in the world to be. She felt so wonderful in his arms until it ended much too soon. 

He put on the new shoes and exclaimed that they fit perfectly even though she could still tell that he was uncomfortable accepting them. He gave her one last quick hug before they headed down in the elevator to go to his interview.

She told him she’d wished that she asked Kai to get him a pair of pants that fit too, realizing just how much taller he was than her father. He had brushed her off and said that she had done more than enough and the pants were fine. They did look a little funny, but it was passable.

He wanted her to drive, but she had insisted that he take the wheel, so he did with mild chagrin and they headed out of the parkade. 

It was a short drive to the building on the edge of the downtown area that his interview was in. When Kristoff got out in front, Anna had walked around the vehicle to the driver’s seat and tiptoed up to kiss him on the cheek and wish him good luck before he went in. She had to smile at the delight that took to his face when she did so. He gave her a tiny wave as she pulled away, planning on circling the block like she told him she would until he called her when it was time to swing back to the front of the building.

It was longer than she expected and she almost started to worry, when he finally called. He seemed pensive on the phone. Anna wondered with a touch of worry how everything went. As soon as she pulled up to the building entrance and saw his smile, she relaxed.

“So how did it go?” Anna asked as he slipped into the passenger seat, not giving her the opportunity to get him back behind the wheel.

“Great! They want me to come back on Tuesday for another interview.”

“Kristoff! That’s awesome!”

“Well, it’s still not a for sure, but I have a really good feeling about this.”

“I have a good feeling about this, too,” Anna said, looking over directly at him.

He stared at her a second before he understood exactly what she was saying and he nodded with a tender smile. 

“So, Elsa is at the Spa this afternoon prepping for dinner tonight and I thought we could go shopping.”

“Ok sure,” he sat back in the seat. “What do you need to get.”

Anna hesitated. She knew how he was going to react to this. He was proud, but he wasn’t unreasonable. She knew she could get him to go along with everything id she used her words carefully.

“We need to get some clothes,” she said.

“We?”

Anna looked over to see his raised eyebrow. She nodded. “Yes, we. Who knows when they’ll get us our bags back.”

“I’ll be fine Anna, I don’t-”

“Hey, do you want to go on a date tonight?” Anna looked over at his silence to see that his mouth was hanging open and it made her giggle. “Please say yes.”

“I… yes of course, I’d love to go on a date with you Anna. Actually, I was going to ask you… but anyway, I thought we were going to your sister’s dinner tonight?”

“Oh, tonight is more of a business anniversary party the board of directors puts on every year. That’s most of the reason I’m visiting this weekend since I still have stake in the company. But they all know Elsa likes to head out early, so it won’t go late. I’m usually sitting around the apartment twiddling my thumbs when she goes to bed.”

“It amuses me that you call that place an apartment.”

Anna looked over to see him smirking at her. “Well, I hate the word Penthouse,” she laughed. “Reminds me of a nudie magazine.”

That made Kristoff laugh and Anna savored every single moment of it. 

“Besides, I know this great place we can duck out to after the dinner is over. It’s a short walk and I know it’s a little chilly, but it should be fun. What do you say?”

“I say it sounds wonderful, Anna.”

“Perfect. It’s a date then.”

\-----

Kristoff tried his best to hide his horror at the price tag on the pair of pants he was looking at.

“Are you sure there isn’t a Wal-Mart or something we could go to for my stuff Anna? I don’t need much.”

“We could, but it’s on the other side of the city and I don’t want to fight the traffic to get over there. This place is fine, come on!”

Kristoff looked around. He had never been in a store like this. There were attendants hovering around them, ready to jump in and help. Nothing was out of place. There wasn’t a single thing on the wrong rack, or anything un-folded on the tables. It was immaculate, and much like the penthouse, made him feel uneasy to be in.

He followed Anna over to a bunch of sweaters. She picked up a Navy blue one and turned around to hold it against his body. 

“Oh, this would look amazing on you!” She handed it to a man who seemed to appear out of nowhere and practically ran off with it.

Anna had been picking several things for him and he only assumed they were accumulating in a dressing room somewhere for him to try on. He was glad she was taking the lead anyway. He had no idea where he would have started and everything she was selecting had been tasteful and very nice. 

It still wasn’t him, however. There wasn’t a t-shirt in sight and the cost of everything, to him, was astronomical. He was getting concerned about how long it was going to take him to pay Anna back. 

He continued to follow her around the store until he found himself being ushered into the dressing room where all his clothes were waiting. He didn’t realize he was even in the dressing room until Anna closed the door and told him she’d be right outside if he wanted her opinion on anything. The space was massive. There was a large easy chair and a small table against the far wall, the rack with all his clothes against the other wall, and an entire corner with floor to ceiling mirrors lit up in a way the made Kristoff not even want to look at himself. He knew how much those lights would illuminate all his scars.

He sighed and tried the navy sweater first. Anna had been the most excited about that one. He took off the borrowed shirt and vest and slipped the thing over his head, instantly amazed with how soft it was. He wondered what it was made of. A quick glance in the mirror confirmed it was a good fit and he pulled it off and put it back on the hanger.

He went about trying on all the clothes in the same way. Everything seemed to fit properly. He thought he ended up looking a little preppy, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. The store at least had jeans, even if they were designer and cost twenty times as much as the ones he bought himself from Costco. They were comfortable at least and made him feel a little more himself. He tried them all on because Anna had picked out four different styles.

He was going to put the borrowed clothes back on when he realized he could just take the tags off the jeans he had just tried on and the navy sweater that Anna liked. He would certainly feel more comfortable. 

He had just slipped the sweater over his head when he heard a knock at the door. “How are you making out Kristoff?” came Anna’s muffled voice from the other side.

“Um good,” he said, making sure he had the tags for what he was wearing. “Everything fits.”

“Can I come in?”

“Uh sure,” he said as she was already opening the door.

She paused as soon as she laid eyes on him. Her gaze travelled up and down his body as she broke out into a gorgeous smile. 

“Oh Kristoff, you look wonderful!”

He felt his cheeks burn. He had to admit, he felt a lot better in clothes that were his size.

“Thank you, Anna.”

“So, you don’t need any other sizes?”

A man appeared behind Anna then stepped quickly back as soon as Kristoff shook his head.

“Okay that’s great. Anything else you want to try on? We can get a couple more outfits if you’d like?”

“No Anna, this is more than enough to pick a few things from.”

“And the suit jacket fits? The place we’re going tonight requires one.”

“Yes, it was fine.”

“Not too short in the sleeves?”

“Actually no. And fit my shoulders too. Haven’t yet found a jacket that did that.”

“Good,” Anna beamed at him. 

“Listen, Anna, about the cost,”

“Hey did you want to head back to the apartment now and grab a nap? I know I could use one after being up all night!”

She smiled at him, but Kristoff understood she knew _exactly_ what she was doing by interrupting him. She had done the same thing to get him to come to the store in the first place, and he knew why. He wanted to talk to her about it, and he would, but now was probably not the best time. 

“Okay,” he said slowly, struggling to find a smile.

He followed Anna out of the dressing room as people seemed to swarm in to grab all the items. Kristoff tried to explain that he didn’t need _all_ of it, but he was ignored. Anna was already off at the till and there was nothing he could really do about it aside from physically fighting these people for the garments.

Kristoff came up behind her and noticed that there were stacks of clean underwear, socks, undershirts and two pairs of pajamas already waiting and being lumped together with all the things he tried on. He had to wonder who had picked the boxer-briefs and how they knew that was what he wore. 

Anna grabbed the clothing tags in his hand and put them on the counter by the register. She then turned around and handed him the keys. 

“Want to go pull the car around to the front Kristoff? I’ll be out in a minute.”

Kristoff stared at the keys in her hand. He knew exactly why she was asking him to get the car. He frowned and took them without a word then stalked out of the store, not wanting to think about how high the receipt was going to be if Anna didn’t want him to see it. 

All the things he was thinking before about how Anna’s money didn’t matter suddenly had him in doubt. He wanted to spend time with her and get to know her better, but not if she was buying him things he didn’t need and paying for literally everything. It made him feel inadequate. It made him feel more worthless than he already felt.

He realized too that Anna didn’t even get anything. She probably had a whole closet full of clothes back at her penthouse and she had just said that to get him to go along with her. Not only was she buying him everything, she was manipulating him. It made him edgy. 

He pulled the car up to the curb in front of the store, mind made up that he was going to ask her to take everything back. Then Anna came out and the look on her face suddenly made him more nervous than the cost of all those clothes.

Kristoff gulped then popped the trunk when he saw the stream of people follow her out with bags. She stood outside the car until everything was loaded. Then she gave them all a friendly smile and wave before they went back into the store. When she turned around the frustration was back on her face.

She opened the door, plopped down into the passenger seat, and slammed the door shut before she turned on him.

“Will it ever be okay Kristoff?” 

He swallowed hard. “What do you mean?”

“That I have money. Will that ever be okay with you? Will you ever be comfortable with it?” 

“I… Anna I don’t know what to say… this is all so new to me.”

“Does money matter to you, Kristoff?” she leaned over closer to his face, eyes blazing into his soul. “When you’re looking for someone you want to date and maybe someday build a life with, does money matter?”

“What? Of course not!”

“Do I have to be penniless before you’d feel comfortable around me? Before you’ll feel like a man?”

“Jesus, Anna! What the hell?”

“My ex was all about my money. You don’t want anything to do with it and he wanted too much, but it’s the same thing! When I first met you, I thought that if anyone could see past it, it would be you. But you can’t. You look at me now and that’s all you see, just like him, and that hurts like hell because I thought you were different!”

She was on the verge of tears and Kristoff felt lower than he ever had in his entire life. All she was doing was being kind to him and he was acting like an ungrateful prick. He was being selfish and stupid. 

He suddenly wanted to kiss her. He wanted to let her know that it wasn’t her fault that he had hang-ups about being bought things. He wanted to let her know that he liked her for her and no other reason. But anything he could think to say didn’t sound right, so he leaned over and hugged her instead.

As soon as he had his arms around her, the tension left her body and she relaxed into him, sighing into his ear.

“I’m sorry, Anna,” he said, knowing he needed to say _something_. “I’ve just been on my own for so long, I’m not used to having someone do things for me. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I appreciate it so much that I can’t even explain, but you have to believe me that it means nothing compared to the way I feel about you.”

“Then you’ll let me do these little things for you and no more talk of money?”

“Not a word.”

“And you’ll get this idea out of your head that you plan on paying me back?” she asked, pulling out of his grasp to look at him.

Kristoff could not help the smile that spread on his face. “How did you know I was thinking that?”

She shrugged, finally smiling herself, putting Kristoff at ease. 

“It was one of the things I guessed about you. Was I right?”

He nodded. “Yes. And now we’re even.”

“Even?”

“Well, I guessed you were feisty when you’re angry and I was right too.”

Anna laughed. “Alright, I’ll give you that.”


	4. Chapter 4

Kristoff woke when someone was gently shaking his shoulders. He blinked, realizing Anna was standing over the bed looking down at him.

“We’ll miss dinner if you don’t get up,” she whispered, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Kristoff slowly raised himself up to sitting. His back hurt like hell, but he bit back the pain, not wanting Anna to see it. 

“Sorry, my alarm _did_ go off… guess I fell right back asleep.”

“It’s okay. And if you’re too tired tonight we can go on a date some other time.”

“No, no,” he said, shifting his legs to sit beside her, keeping the covers firmly around his waist. He had stripped off his pants before he crawled into bed for a nap. “I definitely want to go on our date.”

“Okay,” she smiled. “What are you going to wear tonight?”

Kristoff thought about all the new clothes hanging in the closet the guest bedroom he found himself in. “Um, I don’t know.”

“Might I make a suggestion?”

“Please,” Kristoff said, relieved.

He watched Anna walk over to the closet and pull out a black dress shirt, the dark grey suit jacket, and a pair of dark grey pants to match.

She came over and laid the clothes out on the bed and stood in front of him. “This okay?”

He nodded, “Yeah, looks great. Thank you. I wouldn’t have known what to pick.”

Anna smiled at him sweetly and leaned over to place a kiss on his forehead. His eyes fell shut as soon as her lips touched his skin. 

“Come on out when you’re dressed,” she said. Kristoff opened his eyes and realized she was already at the door. He nodded and she left the room, closing the door behind her.

He ran his hands through his hair with a deep breath, letting it out slow and steady. He had meant what he said, that her financial status didn’t matter to him in the slightest, but he was still struggling to wrap his head around everything.

It was weird to suddenly be living without a care in the world. Everything he needed was right at his fingertips. He couldn’t deny it certainly took a weight off his shoulders, but it still made him feel a little uneasy. At least it wasn’t going to last forever.

Or was it?

What if him and Anna went the long haul? They hadn’t even gone on their date yet, but he knew they were already deeply attracted to one another, that they were comfortable together, and that they enjoyed being in each other’s presence. What then, if they happened to spend the rest of their lives together?

He sighed, getting up and grabbing the clothes to take to the bathroom. He wouldn’t worry about crossing that bridge until they got to it.

\-----

Anna paced the living room. She looked over at the box on the table and hoped that Kristoff meant what he said about letting the whole money thing go. 

She understood Kristoff’s feelings. She had to admit that if she was in his shoes, she would be uncomfortable too. But she had grown up with money, and the lifestyle - although she distanced herself from it as much as possible these days - was not strange to her. 

Movement across the room caught her eye and she turned to see Kristoff walk slowly into the living room. Anna felt her jaw slack open involuntarily.

His hair was styled with gel, perfectly coiffed off his forehead and slicked back at the sides. His shoulders seemed even more broad in the suit jacket and the black shirt looked a lot hotter on him in real life than Anna had pictured it in her head. 

He looked tentative. “How do I look? Do you think I need a tie or something?”

Anna blinked, swallowing hard. She wanted to run up and kiss him and forget about this stupid boring dinner. 

“You… look amazing,” she said, shaking her head.

“You look amazing, too,” his eyes swept her length, taking time to appreciate her emerald dress. “You are beautiful, Anna.”

Her cheeks flushed with heat. “So are you. Er, I mean not beautiful, well, you _are_ beautiful, but I meant handsome.”

He looked at her very closely for a moment, then opened his mouth. “Anna, I-”

“Here, Kristoff,” she turned around and grabbed the white box from the table. She felt bad for interrupting him again, but she could not handle talking about the deep feelings building between them in that moment. She could see it in his eyes, in the way he was looking at her. She knew if he was going to open his mouth about it, she was going to jump him and have her way with him and she did not need to be doing that when she had to be at this dinner with her sister.

His smile was slow, like he could read her thoughts and understand what was in the box at the same time. He nodded, acknowledging her suspicions, then took the box from Anna’s outstretched hands. 

“Brown shoes don’t go with this, right?”

“Right,” she smiled, as Kristoff opened the lid.

“Wow,” he breathed, and pulled out a pair of polished black shoes. “Thank you, Anna.”

Anna let out a sigh of relief that he wasn’t being weird about it. She followed him to the foyer where he sat on the bench and slipped on the shoes. Anna put her wrap around her shoulders, and when Kristoff stood, he surprised her by offering her his elbow.

She smiled in delight at the gentlemanly gesture and slipped her hand around his elbow, curling her fingers around his bicep. They went down into the elevator and Anna guided him out the gate to where a town-car was waiting for them. The driver emerged to open the back door, but Kristoff beat him to it and opened it for Anna instead. She smiled up at him and thanked him and tucked herself into the car. Kristoff followed and they were soon on their way.

“So, Elsa is meeting us there?” Kristoff asked, leaning over and looking out the window at the tall buildings again.

“Yes, Edward already took her over. She likes to be early to go over her speech and to see that her meals will be handled the way she likes them.”

“Forgive me if I’m making a bit of a judgement here, but she seems a little neurotic?”

Anna chuckled. “That she is. It’s mostly OCD, but she suffers a little from Metathesiophobia.”

“Which one is that?”

“Fear of change,” Anna stated. “She’s always had OCD, but ever since our parents passed away, she’s anxious over anything, _or anyone_ , different than what she knows. That’s why our parents room is still the way they left it and she insists on stocking all the bathrooms with toiletries. I don’t know… it’s kind of weird. To me it has always felt like she thinks they are going to come back, or something. I mean, I know she knows that’s impossible, and I think it’s just her way of coping, but still...”

“Everyone has their own way of handling loss I guess.”

Anna nodded. “Mine was physical comfort, but Elsa was never one to give that. I’m surprised she even hugged me when I stepped into the apartment. It was probably her relief that I was alive, I guess. Normally she’s very hands-off. Maybe that’s why I’m such a touchy, hands-on person,” she laughed, but it sounded awkward to her own ears.

Kristoff reached over and grabbed her hands in his. “If I had been there, I would have held you as much as you wanted,” he said softly.

She desperately wanted to kiss him. She even started to lean over, when the car came to a stop. 

“Shit,” Anna muttered to herself. Kristoff chuckled under his breath. 

He got out first and held a hand to help her to her feet. He offered her his elbow again and Anna took it with a smile. They walked into the fancy restaurant and over to the back where a room was set up for the private function. 

Anna started to introduce Kristoff to everyone, hoping she got everyone’s name right. She had flubbed them up once or twice and Elsa had insisted she set herself straight. She had studied a picture and committed all their faces and names to her memory.

Elsa sat at the head of the table at the far end against the wall and when everyone had a cocktail in their hands, they began taking chairs. As soon as everyone was seated, Elsa stood and clinked her glass.

“I’d like to thank you all for organizing this again this year and coming out to celebrate the thirty-ninth year of Arendelle Holdings being in business. I know that a lot of you have worked hard to ensure that…”

Anna leaned over to Kristoff. “After her speech, everyone is going to take turns saying something,” she whispered in his ear.

“Boring,” he whispered back.

Anna had to bit her lip to keep from laughing. She had been waiting her whole life to be able to relate to someone the way she related to Kristoff. She simply could not wait for the dinner to be over so they could go out and have some real fun. 

\-----

The salad had been okay, if not too small and presented in a way that it made it hard to eat, but what Kristoff found himself staring at now, baffled him.

Anna leaned in. “It’s ceviche,” she whispered.

“Isn’t this just slices of raw fish?” he whispered back, surprised that his voice sounded so squeamish. Everyone around them was caught in their own quiet conversations and he didn’t think anyone was listening to them, but he still didn’t want to be overheard.

“Well, yes and no. It’s marinated in citrus and it kind of… cooks? I don’t know it works, but it’s not like sushi.”

“I’ve never had raw fish before,” he tried not to sneer his nose at the thought of the texture in his mouth.

“Just try a bite, you’ll like it,” Anna whispered and brought her fork up. She gave him a wink as soon she put it in her mouth.

Kristoff gulped and decided to man up. He put a piece of the thinly sliced fish on his fork and put it in his mouth. He hesitated, contemplating spitting it out, then decided not to for how embarrassing that would be, and he forced himself to chew. To his surprise, the texture was not as bad as he feared, and it actually did taste really good.

“See?” Anna whispered.

Kristoff looked over to see Anna smirking at him. “Okay, it’s good. How many courses is this anyway?”

“Um, seven I think.”

_“Seven? Really?”_

“Well last year they tried nine, but it was too much. People got too full for the desserts.”

“Desserts? As in plural?”

“There were two that year, yes. I was the only one who ate them both.”

“Why does that not surprise me,” Kristoff smiled at her. During their conversations her love of anything chocolaty had came up several times.

“What can I say? I have a sweet tooth.”

“Well you can have mine tonight, if you like.”

Anna grinned. “You have a deal, mister.”

They fell quiet as the plates for the ceviche were cleared away and a plate of something grey looking was staring at him. Kristoff didn’t even want to ask. He just picked up the little piece of toast that the unsightly pile was sitting on and took a bite. It tasted a lot better than it looked, but it was still something weird that he had no desire to ever eat again.

“Duck liver mousse,” Anna whispered.

“I thought that was illegal?”

“It’s not foie gras,” she said with a quiet giggle. “It’s just the liver from the ducks they butcher, made into a mousse. This restaurant prides itself on the whole farm-to-table concept, trying to utilize as much of the proteins as possible sort of deal.”

“Oh,” was all he could think to say. He had never been to a place like this and he was willing to bet there was a vast majority of people who had never been to a place like this before either. He was just glad that he was there with Anna. Being with her made anything tolerable.

He finished the weird piece of toast and gulped down the rest of his wine. As soon as he set the glass down, there was a waiter at his side filling it back up.

“Bet you we go through thirty bottles of wine tonight,” Anna said quietly, scooting her chair closer to Kristoff. 

“No way. There’s only, what,” he scanned the table, “a baker’s dozen here.”

“You would be surprised,” Anna smiled, lifting her own wine glass to her lips and taking a sip as she held his eyes.

Kristoff got an idea to have a little fun. “Really? You want to make a bet or something?”

“A bet?” her eyes lit up as she set her glass down. “What are the stakes?”

“How about loser has to kiss the winner?” he smirked.

“Wouldn’t that make us both winners?” Anna raised an eyebrow, challenging him.

He laughed quietly. “Yes, I suppose it would. Okay, how about… loser has to confess their deepest, darkest secret then?”

“Ooh, you play hardball.” Her eyes were twinkling beautifully in the dim lighting. “What’s your guess then?”

“Seventeen. No, make it twenty. There’s no way it’ll be more than that.”

Anna laughed. “I’m sticking with thirty, and I am going to win.”

“Fine. Whoever is closer, takes it.”

“Oh, you’re on!”

Kristoff gave her a nod of affirmation, then someone was stepping between them. A plate of ravioli appeared on the table and he grabbed his fork immediately and dug in. Anna giggled beside him and he looked over to see her smiling at him.

God, he liked her. He liked her _a lot._

They both ate their pasta faster than anyone else at the table. Kristoff had almost laughed out loud to see only three raviolis on the plate, thinking it was a ridiculously small portion. Then he took a bite and understood why there wasn’t more. It the was richest pasta he’d ever eaten. It was filled with some kind of mushroom concoction, and he couldn’t quite put a finger on what the sauce was supposed to be, but he knew there was _a lot_ of butter in it.

When they were done, Anna put her hand on his thigh and smiled up at him. It made his heart ache to see her in unbridled happiness, wondering what all the previous dinners she had had to endure were like. It didn’t take a genius to see that things between her and her sister were friendly but strained. And she had mentioned not having anyone to hug her when her parents passed away. That alone had nearly broken Kristoff’s heart and he wanted to make sure that she would never have to go through that again. In fact, he promised himself that she would never have to-

_Holy shit…_ he thought. _I am completely in love with her._

There was no denying it. He accepted it into his heart as the truth, looking into her beautiful blue eyes. That bridge he wasn’t going to worry about was suddenly there, and he knew without a doubt that he was going to cross it. He would walk down it with a smile on his face, all the love he had to offer in the world, and a promise to never leave Anna wanting something as simple as a hug, ever again.

\-----

Kristoff pushed his plate of chocolate lava cake over to Anna. He did it without hesitation, and even thought he admitted he didn’t have a sweet tooth, she knew that he would have done it anyway even if he did.

As soon as he smiled at her, she knew she was head over heels in love with him.

This was the man she’d been looking for her whole life. Kristoff was the man that was going to bring her happiness. True happiness. She knew it as well as her own name, and she pulled her chair even closer to him, until the legs were touching. They talked and stared at each other as everyone finished their dessert. They might as well have been the only ones at the table.

Elsa broke up the night by thanking everyone again and bidding everyone a safe ride home. She didn’t need to tell anyone to hail cabs. The whole crowd had a parade of town cars waiting outside.

The table slowly emptied as Elsa settled the bill, leaving her, Anna and Kristoff the only ones left. Anna told Kristoff to grab her wrap and she went to Elsa to see the bill.

“So, was it a big one?”

“Not as big as last time.”

“You left a good tip I hope?”

Elsa rolled her eyes. “Yes, Anna. Upon your past _insistence_ , I am leaving _way_ more that I think I should.”

“Well good. These people always work hard for us you know.”

“I know,” Elsa sighed, signing her name on the receipt.

“So… how many bottles of wine were diminished tonight?”

Elsa looked at the bill again. “Twenty-seven.”

“Ha!” Anna exclaimed, and then caught herself and cleared her throat. “Everyone behaved themselves a little better than last time I see,” she said, more reserved.

“It would appear so,” Elsa said slowly, already giving her a questioning look.

Anna ignored it. She knew she was going to get a lot more of that in a minute.

Kristoff helped Anna into her wrap then offered to help Elsa into hers. Elsa blinked at him, surprised, and Anna had to turn her head away lest her sister see the roll of her eyes. Elsa finally let Kristoff wrap it around her after a long pause that seemed to make them all uncomfortable. 

They followed Elsa out into the street. Anna hooked her arm in Kristoff’s elbow, holding him back as soon as Elsa approached the car. She knew he was going to try and hold the door open if she didn’t and she wanted to keep him right beside her. Despite her hope that Elsa was going to keep her feelings about new people to herself, Anna had a bad feeling that Elsa was going to say something sooner or later.

Edward came around and opened the door where Elsa stood waiting. She turned around before she got in, question on her face to see her sister still standing in the middle of the sidewalk. 

“We’re going for a walk and maybe another drink,” Anna said coolly. She felt Kristoff’s arm twitch ever so slightly, clearly picking up on the tension.

“Oh?” Elsa said, gaze flicking between the two of them. “You don’t want to come back and hang out a bit?”

“Well, last year you said that you went to bed five minutes after we got back. I know you like to turn in early and that’s fine. I’m just not tired and I want to show Kristoff around a bit.”

Elsa was quiet for a second then she forced a smile. “Okay. Have fun. I’ll see you in the morning.” She turned to get into the car, then suddenly straightened, stopping Anna as she was just about to walk away. “Be safe,” she said, throwing a quick sideways glance at Kristoff.

“Uh-huh,” Anna said curtly then dragged Kristoff down the street. 

They had walked two blocks before Anna finally broke the silence. “I hate the way she does things like that! Like… it’s not her life! It’s mine! Why does she have to be that way?”

“Didn’t you say that ever since your parents…”

“I know,” she huffed. “But it annoys me so much. You should have seen the fight we got into when I told her I was moving to Kamloops.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It was pretty bad. I left without either of us saying goodbye. I didn’t hear from her for a long time. I half thought that she’d cut me out of the family, or disown me or something,”

“She can’t do that.”

“I know, Kristoff, sweetheart. I just feared that she would somehow make my life hell for leaving. She did come around. It took a while, but she did reach out and call me. We’ve been fairly back to normal since then. Well, as normal as things can be for us anyway.”

“I’m sorry, Anna. I can’t even imagine how hard it is for you.”

She thought about how fucked up her family was when she had an epiphany. A good wholesome get together was exactly what she needed. 

“Hey! Maybe tomorrow we could take a trip to the island and see your folks? I’d love to meet them!”

Kristoff paused, his step faltering. Anna stopped walking when he did and looked up at his distraught face.

“Sorry. Is it too soon to introduce me?”

His eyes were pained. “No, Anna, that’s not that at all. I… well, they don’t even know I’m here.”

“Kristoff! Why?”

“Well, I honestly didn’t think the interview was going to go well,” his hand rubbed the back of his neck. “I had a ticket for a bus home tonight.”

“But you still didn’t tell your parents?”

He sighed, eyes going to the ground. “I just… I don’t know how to explain to them, the struggles I’m going through. And I know as soon as Ma sets her eyes on me, she’s going to know there’s something wrong. I just can’t deal with that right now.”

Anna looked at him, studying every inch of his honest face. “Things have changed a bit since then though, right?”

He nodded, still looking down. 

“You should call them tomorrow, Kristoff. I don’t mind staying behind, but you should spend time with your family while you’re here. Life is too short not to.”

That brought his eyes up. Anna hadn’t even meant to get emotional, but his face started to waver in her vision. She missed her parents terribly and desperately wished sometimes that she could get back lost time.

Suddenly her face was buried in his chest and she was surrounded by his warmth. Her new favorite place in the world. 

“I will, Anna. And I do want you to come with me,” he said, resting his chin gently on the top of her head again. Anna loved that more than anything. She melted into him, losing herself in the almost heart-stopping euphoria of his embrace.

They stayed that way for a while. Anna wasn’t crying anymore but she couldn’t bring herself to leave his protection. She never wanted to leave, in fact. She always wanted to have it at her disposal, to have Kristoff in her life. She knew it would never be complete without him. Not anymore.

“Come on,” he said, his voice resonating in his chest with her ear pressed to him. “It’s getting cold. Let’s get where you want to go.”

She pulled her head back to look at him but left her arms around his waist. “You sure you’re up for where I’m taking you?”

“Why?” he drew out the word with a smile.

“Let’s just say it’s a little livelier than the last place.”


	5. Chapter 5

Anna went down a set of stairs in the sidewalk to a place that was below the street level, kind of like the old television show Cheers. The thing that gave him pause, and the reason he remained at the top of the steps, was the sign said _Closed._

“Anna,” he said, pointing to the sign that sat against the building at his feet. “It’s not open.”

She turned around a looked at him and where he was gesturing, then laughed. “That’s just to keep the riff raff out.”

“The what?”

“Come on!” She gestured with her arm to follow, so he went down the steps.

She opened the door into a small vestibule where there stood a large wooden door with another closed sign. She pushed it and it opened. 

As soon as the door cracked, Kristoff heard the music and the din of people float out to greet him. He could smell stale beer and something cooking that made his mouth water. Some kind of slow roasted meat, he guessed. Whatever it was, he was willing to bet it was delicious.

Anna grabbed his hand and dragged him quickly inside, shutting the heavy door behind them. 

Kristoff was amazed at what he saw. He could have sworn he was transported into some pub in Ireland. One of the ones that his hundreds of years old, all wood, warm - actually the air was quite hot with all the people - friendly smiles, everyone with a drink in their hand, live band playing in the corner, people cheering and yelling and laughing. 

No shit this was different from the last place. Compared to the ostentatious dinner they just had, this was much more Kristoff’s style.

“Anna!” A short little old man with a shock of white hair ran up to her and pulled her into a bear hug. He was stout and Anna curved herself around his belly as she giggled and hugged him back. 

“Olaf!” Anna shouted with a smile, holding the man at arms length. “It’s good to see you!”

Kristoff was amused that Olaf was the same height as Anna. He had a genuinely happy smile, one that Kristoff had a feeling the man wore often with the deep lines around his mouth and eyes. There was a grease stained apron around his wide waist and Kristoff had to wonder if he was the master behind the delicious smelling food.

“Olaf,” Anna said loudly, leaning in to talk over the music and gesturing to him. “This is Kristoff! We were sitting on the bus together in that accident on the Coq.”

Olaf’s eyes blazed wide. “You were on that, Anna? Oh my Lord, I am so glad you are okay!”

He turned to Kristoff and stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Kristoff. The name’s Olaf.”

Kristoff gripped his hand, surprised at the firmness in it. “Nice to meet you, too,” he said. 

“Come on dear, come out of this ruckus,” he said, grabbing Anna around the shoulders and leading her away. Kristoff shrugged to himself and followed.

Olaf walked through an open doorway, opposite the band, and into another room. There were more tables, people sitting at them instead of standing. There were obviously still along the street side of the building as there were high stained-glassed windows by the sidewalk above them. He followed them through to one more room beyond that one, even more quiet and still against the street, where there were more tables filled with people. Kristoff could actually hear some of the conversations with the band so far behind them.

He led them over to a booth in the very back corner under one of the stained-glass windows. A reserved sign sat on the table with a cursive capital A on either side of the word. Anna went to the far end against the corner, so Kristoff sat across from her, scooting over to the middle of the bench in the same spot that she had settled herself.

“The usual, Anna?” Olaf inquired. Anna nodded and the old man turned his attention to him. “How about you fella?”

Kristoff didn’t know what to say. There wasn’t a drink menu or anything. He looked to Anna, but she was only looking back at him with wide twinkling eyes. God, she was so gorgeous.

“Um… I’ll have what she’s having,” he said.

“Good choice, lad!” Olaf shouted and waddled away.

Kristoff leaned over the table to Anna. “What are we having?”

“Guinness.”

“Really? You like beer?”

Anna nodded. “How about you?”

“It’s my drink of choice,” he smiled, leaning back. He had to look around again to take it all in. It was an atmosphere he did not picture a wealthy socialite going to. He caught himself, realizing Anna was not a socialite even though she was wealthy. In fact, this place actually seemed to suit her personality to a T. 

“You’re going to have to explain to me how you know about this place and why the riff raff is being kept out,” Kristoff said, bringing his gaze back to her.

She smiled, eyes turning mischievous. “This is my dirty little secret that Elsa knows nothing about.”

“Really?” Kristoff said, leaning over the table on his forearm with a grin. “Do tell.”

Anna opened her mouth when Olaf appeared at their side. He set two glasses of Guinness in front of them and a bowl of pretzels in the middle of the table.

“Cheers to you youngsters,” Olaf said and took off.

“Well, Cheers to you, Anna,” Kristoff said, picking up his pint.

Anna grabbed hers. “No, cheers to us, and meeting on that bus.”

“I will drink to that,” Kristoff replied with a smile and they clinked their glasses together. They each took a long pull of the beer, eyeing each other of the rims of the glasses.

Anna reached over and popped a pretzel in her mouth. “Okay,” she said, talking around the food, “So it all started when Olaf showed up at my parents wake. Neither Elsa or I knew him and of course my sister was too distraught to care… I mean, I was distraught too, but I was still curious. So I asked him and he confided in me that my Dad and Mom used to come to this place to unwind.”

“Date nights?”

Anna nodded, grabbing another pretzel. “Olaf has kept this place open for nearly fifty years, inherited from his father. It’s a public place, but it’s also kind of an exclusive club for people who don’t want to bother with the crowds in normal Pubs. My parents came here all the time, so Olaf started to save this table for them,” Anna gestured to the Reserved sign bookended by the two cursive A’s and Kristoff realized that it represented the name Arendelle. 

“The first time I showed up here when I was nineteen, Olaf was happy to start using the sign again. I told him I wouldn’t be around when I moved of course, but I called him while you were in the shower earlier and told him I was coming tonight and he said he’d save my table.” Anna finished.

“You know that sounds completely made up, right?” he smirked.

Anna laughed at him. “I know, but it’s the truth! Every evening on the weekend this place closes after lunch and only the people who are… shall we say _members_ for lack of a better word, are allowed in.”

“Couldn’t anyone just walk in if they wanted? I know it says closed but it’s not like the doors are locked or anything.”

“They are turned politely away and told the establishment is closed for a private function.”

Kristoff thought about the concept. “You know, I’ve never been part of a private function until tonight. I guess I went to two of them, didn’t I?”

“You certainly did,” Anna giggled.

“So, what else do you do when you’re trying to have fun? Besides coming here of course,” Kristoff asked, taking another swig of his beer.

“Oh, I’ve explored pretty much this whole city. I think I’ve eaten in almost all the restaurants too. I used to dine alone a lot whenever I was between friends, but then I got smart about it and made Edward come in with me, pretending he was my father. I tell you, there are some good places to eat here.”

Kristoff thought about her eating alone and it made him sad. She didn’t need to tell him that she had a hard time making friends because of her wealth. He understood how greedy people could be, her ex included. 

“How about you show me some of your favorites,” Kristoff offered.

“Really?” Her eyes lit up and it ignited a fire in his soul. 

“Yes. Not tomorrow night, though. As soon as I call up my folks in the morning, I know Ma is going to insist we come for dinner.”

Her hands flew across the table onto the forearm he was leaning on. “Oh Kristoff, I am so excited!”

He looked down at her small hands, gripping his arm, then back up to her smiling face. He suddenly needed more of her.

“Come here,” he said, moving his arm from under her palms to grab her hand. He leaned over and pulled her off the seat and guided her around to his side, scooting over as she sat down beside him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and looked down into her eyes.

“This okay?”

She nodded, eyes locked onto his. 

“So, who won that bet?” he asked, leaning closer to her face.

“Oh, I totally won,” she smiled.

Kristoff laughed. “How many then? Where you right on the nose?”

“Close. It was twenty-seven.”

Kristoff shook his head. “I can’t believe how much those people drink.”

“I told you you’d be surprised.”

“I guess I better pay up then,” his gaze fell to her lips.

“I guess you better,” she murmured, leaning closer and looking at him with dreamy eyes.

“Anna, can I kiss you?”

She nodded and Kristoff pushed his lips to hers.

He truly wasn’t prepared for how amazing it was going to be to have Anna’s lips on his. He knew as soon as he kissed her that he was never going to be the same man again. She hadn’t just stolen his heart, she had stolen his entire soul. 

No matter what the future held for him, he was hers.

\-----

Not only had Kristoff offered to pay for their drinks, he insisted. That simple gesture meant more to Anna than she could ever have described. 

All her life, any friends she’d tried to make, never offered to pay a cent as soon as they found out she had money. Not a one. They all liked to suggest going out and always picked high-end places, then didn’t lift a finger or even bat an eye when the bill came. They just expected Anna to pay it.

Anna got so tired of it that she stopped seeking out friendship. That was what she had liked about Kamloops so much. She had a modest apartment, a coffee shop to run, and some real genuine people in her life. She was going to miss them if she moved back to the coast.

Kristoff had thrown a couple bills on the table and Anna recognized that he was leaving a very generous tip. That had pleased her just as much as the fact that he was paying.

And he never said anything about it. Anna was watching him closely and he was happy to pay; relieved almost. She had asked her ex pay for a bill once and he had actually sneered at her.

Olaf had pulled them both into a hug when they left and Anna had to stifle a giggle at the surprise on Kristoff’s face. 

They decided to walk a bit, slowly heading back in the direction of Anna’s building. Her arm was around his elbow again with her cheek resting on his bicep as they walked. She had never known such simple happiness.

And that kiss! Wow, that kiss! She had not been able to think of much else after finally understanding just how amazing it was to kiss him.

She had parted her lips, wanting to deepen the kiss. Kristoff had taken then bait, if only for a second. He gently pulled back and looked at her with hooded eyes. She understood. It was not the time or the place.

They had fallen back into easy conversation and Anna reminded Kristoff that he still had the other half of the bet to pay up on. He had told her that his deepest darkest secret was that he slept with his childhood reindeer stuffed animal until he was sixteen.

Anna had to laugh. Of course, that was his secret. He was just the type of guy that would be that innocent. 

Anna yawned, unable to hold it in any longer.

“Let’s just get a cab, Anna,” he laughed, then yawned himself. “Contagious,” he said with a chuckle.

Anna giggled with him. “Yeah, let’s just get back. We’re both dead on our feet.”

They strolled up the block, trying to hail any cab that drove by. It wasn’t long before one pulled up beside them and Anna gave the driver the address.

Kristoff grabbed her hand in his and ran lazy passes over her skin with his thumb as he stared out the window. Anna leaned over, nestling her cheek against his arm again. The ride was short thank goodness, because Anna was so tired and comfortable that she was on the verge of falling asleep. 

They rode up the elevator in silence, Anna leaning against Kristoff’s large frame. The closer she got to her bed, the more her exhaustion was pressing on her. Kristoff curled his arm around her and held her close, placing a kiss on the top of her head. Anna smiled to herself and sighed with satisfaction.

“You’ll call your parents in the morning?” Anna asked as they walked slowly down the wide hallway where the bedrooms resided.

“Yes, and I am actually really looking forward to introducing you. My family is going to love you, I know it. Especially Ma.”

“And I know I am going to love them too,” Anna smiled up at him as they stopped outside his door.

“You are such an amazing person, Anna. You care with your whole heart,” he smiled back. “I think that’s what I love about you the most.”

_Did he just…_

His face shifted with concern, like he was just realizing what he said. Anna wanted so badly to kiss him. She wanted to show him how much she loved him and she wanted him so show her too. But he looked so tired! He had been through so much in the past 30 hours and Anna wasn’t her sharpest herself. If they were going to get things out in the open it was going to open a whole can of worms and she knew they were both too tired to tread into that territory.

“You know what I love most about you?” Anna said, slipping her arms around his waist. 

He swallowed and shook his head. 

“You are the most honest and pure-hearted man I have ever met. You have more integrity in your smallest toe than all the people I’ve ever met in my life.”

His cheeks turned pink. “No, Anna, I’m not-”

Anna pushed her lip to his. She kept it chaste but lingering, savoring in the feeling. She pulled back slowly and looked up into his eyes. 

“Goodnight Kristoff. Sleep in as long as you like and I’ll see you in the morning,” she thought a second. “Or later this morning,” she giggled.

He nodded slowly, glancing down at her lips a quick second before he met her eyes again. “Goodnight Anna. And thank you again. For everything.”

“Well thanks for drinks and the cab,” Anna said, delighted when he smiled very genuinely. 

He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss, before he turned to open his door. He paused before he went into the room. “Sweet dreams.”

“Same to you,” Anna said, slowly backing down the hall to her own room.

He gave her a soft smile, then disappeared behind his door.

\-----

Kristoff rubbed his eyes with frustration. He was tired. He was dead tired, and he could not fall asleep. He had spent the better part of an hour staring at the unfamiliar ceiling. 

He knew he was thinking too much, but it wasn’t just that. It was the lingering feeling of Anna’s arms around his body, her lips pressed to his, say nothing about the fact that he was pretty sure they had kind of admitted they loved each other. Hadn’t they? 

He had never been messed up by someone as much as Anna had messed him up. He had met her barely a day ago and now his entire life was changing before his eyes. He was scared and exhilarated and nervous and incredibly horny. 

He contemplated seeing if he just needed to satiate some of that _want_ , but every time he tried to think about it, his mind would shift to the weirdest places, like where they would live. Not that he should be thinking about things so far in the future, but that was exactly what he seemed to be doing. 

And to top it all off, a dull ache had settled into his back. He wondered just how stiff he was going to be in the morning. The last time he’d wrenched his back he could barely stand the next day. He really hoped that it wasn’t going to interfere with doing things with Anna. He didn’t want to ruin any of her plans because his mobility was hindered.

There was a soft knock at his door, so quiet that he would have missed it if he had not been awake. Kristoff winced at the pain in his back when he got up and walked quickly to the door. He didn’t want Anna to leave, thinking that he was asleep.

She was standing there in a nightgown, hair loose around her face, chewing on her lip. 

“I hope I didn’t wake you,” she whispered.

“You didn’t,” he whispered back and stood aside so that she could come in. She entered the room without hesitation.

Kristoff closed the door and turned to see that she was sitting on the edge of the bed. He walked slowly over to her, wondering what she was still doing awake. He sat beside her and waited for her to speak.

“I can’t sleep,” she said, looking at her hands.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, concerned. It looked like something was bothering her.

“Yes, everything is the most okay it has ever been in my life,” she said, looking up at him. “I think that’s the problem.”

“Oh?” Kristoff gulped. He was suddenly afraid of what she was going to say.

“I just…” she sighed. “I don’t know how to explain this Kristoff, but I just need to be close to you. I just… need to be in your arms. Can I sleep with you tonight?”

“Of course, Anna,” he said, relieved, pulling her into a sideways hug. “I think that would help me get to sleep too.”

She stayed under his arm for a quiet moment, sighing happily before she pulled slowly away from him to look at his face.

“I love you, Kristoff,” she said quietly, holding his eyes.

“I love you too, Anna,” he smiled. “But I think you already know that.”

She nodded and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her and laid down, brining her down to his side with him. They shifted together and snuggled themselves beneath the covers, Anna curled up to his side as he settled on his back. 

It was clear as soon as they were comfortable that being close to each other was exactly what they both needed. Anna sighed, long, slow, and happy, and fell asleep almost immediately. Kristoff too barely registered this before his own mind started to wander away. 

The last thought he had as he drifted off was that all the bad luck that he had endured, had brought him the greatest luck of his entire life. It had brought him Anna, and he knew with her at his side, there would not be another day as long as he lived that he took for granted. 

He had her now to live for.


	6. Chapter 6

Kristoff woke feeling sore all over and happier than he’d ever been in his life. He felt Anna’s warmth at his side and knew no matter what, everything was going to be okay.

He opened his eyes to see that they had hardly moved at all in the night. That didn’t really surprise him, given how tired they had been. It was a long ordeal with the whole bus thing, but also a wonderful evening getting to know each other better, even if it went a little late.

He had no idea what time it was, but he suspected it was late morning. They had slept well even though it hadn’t been all that long. Kristoff brought his hand up and pulled a few stray strands of hair off Anna’s cheek. He was moving slow and gentle, but her eyes fluttered open at his touch. 

“Good morning,” Kristoff said quietly.

“Good morning,” Anna smiled back, snuggling herself further against his side, burying her face into his chest.

They laid together for a time, feeling each other breathe, before Anna asked if Kristoff wanted to go for breakfast at the little diner down the block. He agreed that would be a great idea and decided it was time to get up anyway.

As soon as he tried to move, he was in a world of pain. He knew his back was going to be sore and he knew it was going to be hard to get moving, but he wasn’t prepared for anything like _this_. He was unable to hide the grimace. There was no way Anna wouldn’t notice.

“Does it hurt really bad?”

“I’m okay,” he said through an exhale. “Just a little stiff.”

He didn’t sound okay and he knew it. Anna knew it too from the look on her face. 

“Please Kristoff, if there is anything I can do, let me know. Want me to rub your back for a bit?”

Kristoff was pulling in quick breaths as she talked, trying to prepare himself to move.

“It’s okay Anna, I just have to get up and walk it out.” 

She nodded and pushed herself from his side. She sat watching him as he gritted his teeth and sat up, biting back the painful moan that threated to rip from his throat. He managed to get upright though and steadied himself, willing the pain away, before his attempt to stand.

It hurt like hell but managed to straighten out on his feet. He stood there for a moment, holding the position, allowing his muscles to stretch, then he slowly, very slowly, took a few steps forward.

It was weird having to do this with Anna’s eyes on him. He could feel her stare and he knew that she was worried over him. Since getting his strength back after the accident, he’d only wrenched his back once before the bus accident. In no way shape or form had he suffered as much as this time.

He paced slowly from the window to the door and back again, breathing slow and steady, working out the kinks and trying to ease the stiffness. By the time he turned back to the bed, Anna was sitting on the edge, still watching him with a furrowed brow.

“I’m sorry you have to suffer like this,” she said quietly as he walked back to the bed.

Kristoff paused in front of her and smiled. “Hey, it’s okay Anna. It’s such a small price to pay to be alive, and to be able to walk. It’ll be fine in a few days, please don’t worry about it.”

“What helps when it’s this sore?”

“Honestly, walking mostly. Hot showers sometimes. I try not to take painkillers, but I might have to find one this morning,” he chuckled quietly.

Anna smiled at him and he was glad to see it. “Well, those we have, and if you want, we can go for a quick walk before breakfast?”

Kristoff leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Sounds great.”

\-----

“So, you two had fun last night?”

Anna tore her eyes away from Kristoff as he paced slowly past the window out on the balcony. He had slipped out to call his mother. Anna knew from the way he was walking that he was still in a little pain. He was trying to hide it as best he could even though it showed in almost every move he made. The walk had helped, he said, and the painkiller had done what it could, but he was clearly still aching.

“We did,” Anna answered. She almost said more but kept quiet. She knew her sister wouldn’t like what she was going to say about Kristoff anyway.

Elsa watched her closely, making her uncomfortable, so she turned her eyes back out the window. Kristoff was smiling now as he absentmindedly leaned over the side railing, gazing out over the water.

Sleeping next to him the night before had been one of the most restful nights in Anna’s life. They hadn’t even had a chance to sleep that long, considering how late they went to bed, but the sleep they did get was sound. When Anna woke to see Kristoff gazing at her with nothing but adoration in his eyes, she knew that sleeping alone was now a thing of the past. 

Elsa sighed heavily. “You have the same look in your eyes when you brought the _other one_ here.”

Anna’s face twitched. She was also unable to utter her ex’s name out loud, but the fact that Elsa was trying to compare Kristoff to him made her instantly angry. She threw her sister a look, daring her to go on.

Elsa was apparently ready to fight about it. Again.

“I hate seeing you get hurt, Anna. When are you going to learn?”

Anna clenched her fists. “You know what, Elsa? I am _never_ going to learn. I am going to keep throwing my heart out there and living as passionately as I can.”

“Even though _everyone_ wants to take advantage of how naive you are?”

Anna gritted her teeth. This was not the first time Elsa had brought this up and she knew it wouldn’t be the last either. Best to keep her mouth shut, lest she say something that she would really regret. She threw her gaze out the window to watch Kristoff instead, feeling the calm wash over her just looking at him.

Kristoff glanced over to notice Anna looking at him and he grinned at her, holding up his hand and making a talkative puppet gesture as he playfully rolled his eyes. Anna found a very easy smile for him.

From the corner of her eye as Elsa leaned back in her chair and cross her legs, obviously proud of herself. 

Anna often felt that Elsa thought herself better and wiser than her simply for the fact that she was a few years older. What she didn’t seem to understand was that Anna had actually been living her life. Elsa on the other hand, spent most of her time working or alone. What the hell could she possibly know about love and friendship, more than Anna?

“He is just going to use you too, you know.”

The smugness in Elsa’s voice alone was enough to bring out Anna’s full rage. She turned to her sister and let the hurt and anger come out in unfiltered words.

“How dare you! How dare you sit there thinking you know what’s going on! You think that you know more than I do! You think that anyone who would could into our lives is here to rob us blind! How are _you_ going to continue on Elsa? How are you going to manage when Kai and Gerda retire? Are you going to trust hiring new people? Are you-”

“That has nothing to do with this! This is about you and your foolish naivety bringing another man into your life who is just going to use you and cheat on you like that last pig.”

“Why do you keep doing this? I’m not stupid, Elsa. I’ve leaned from my mistakes!”

“What’s to learn Anna, really? They’re all the same. He’s a pig, just like your ex.”

“You don’t know him!” Anna screamed. “You don’t know him at all! He-”

“He will use you like all the others Anna! Why can’t you see that!”

Anna was seeing red. She was so furious that she couldn’t form any words that wouldn’t be a series of very serious curses directed at her sister. She was shaking she was so mad. She wanted to say so many things to her in that moment. So many things that she’d kept bottled up because she knew how fragile Elsa’s psyche was. Maybe it was time. Maybe it was finally time let her know how hard living with her had been for all those years. Maybe it was finally time for Elsa to hear exactly what Anna thought of her attitude.

She opened her mouth to unleash when Elsa’s gaze suddenly shifted to something behind Anna and her face turned to stone.

Anna looked over her shoulder to see Kristoff standing in the open door to the balcony. His eyes were wide, his mouth pulled into a firm line, and his gaze flicking back and forth between her and her sister. She wondered how much he had heard.

He stepped hesitantly all the way into the Penthouse and slid the door behind him. His eyes were focused solely on her now, full of concern and compassion. Full of love.

Anna felt a calm wash over her. She suddenly had no desire to prove Elsa wrong. She was officially done with her sister.

Anna walked over to Kristoff and grabbed his hand, smiling. 

“Come with me,” she said quietly.

\-----

Kristoff followed her without hesitation. 

He had heard enough to know what they were fighting about. He imagined it was what most of their arguments sounded like. He had no idea how Anna could put up with it, quite frankly.

He didn’t bother giving Elsa a second glance. It was clear she didn’t think much of him and to be brutally honest, he didn’t think very much of her either. Anna deserved so much more than Elsa gave her credit for.

Anna led him into a spacious room that he knew right away it was her bedroom. Kristoff smiled at all the things in her space. There was a bench at the foot of her unmade bed, arranged carefully with stuffed animals, likely ones from her childhood. Her clothes were scattered all over the floor in front of the walk-in closet. Her vanity was covered in all sorts of makeup and jewelry. There was a massive book case in the corner, stuffed with books thrown in every possible way and direction. She had Christmas lights hanging from the four posts around her bed. Everything was vibrant and cheerful with color.

The room screamed _Anna._

She shut the door quietly and turned to him. Kristoff wondered how the hell she could be so calm after the confrontation with her sister.

“Sorry, I guess I haven’t shown you my room yet,” Anna smiled as she walked past him. 

Kristoff had no idea what was going on. He followed her without a word as she went into the closet then gestured for him to come in when he paused at the door.

“Can you reach that for me?”

She was pointing to a suitcase sitting on the shelf above the top row of clothes.

“Going somewhere?” he asked, even though he had an idea what was on her mind.

_“We_ are going somewhere,” she said as he reached up carefully, making sure to move slow and deliberate to not further aggravate his back. He pulled the case down and set it on the floor.

“Where are we going to go?”

“Well,” Anna sighed, bending down to lay the suitcase flat and open it. “A hotel most likely. I just…. I can’t stay here anymore.”

Kristoff didn’t blame her. He didn’t want to stay either now that he knew how much he was looked down upon. But he kept his mouth shut. Anna clearly didn’t want to talk about it. He helped her pack instead.

When the big bag was full, Kristoff rolled it down the hallway to the room he had been staying in. He followed Anna to fetch another luggage bag from her parent’s closet and then she helped Kristoff pack up all his new clothes and shoes. After that they set off down the hall to the elevator.

He was glad that they didn’t encounter Elsa on the way. He didn’t want Anna to get upset and he didn’t really want to be looked at again in the way she had looked at him earlier. Clearly the fact that Anna kept telling her that Kristoff had saved her life (which he still knew he hadn’t – maybe prevented a bigger injury, but that was all), meant nothing to Elsa. She thought Kristoff would use Anna for her money.

Anna was right. Elsa didn’t know him at all.

They rode down the elevator in silence. Anna unlocked the rental car and Kristoff threw their bags in the trunk. Anna gave him the keys, so he opened Anna’s door for her then slipped himself behind the wheel.

He backed out of the stall waiting for Anna’s instructions on where to go. They could head to Mexico for all he cared. In that instant, he wanted nothing else from life than to just be by Anna’s side, always. He promised to himself, to never leave her lonely again.

\-----

The clerk tapped away on his computer. “We have a standard King room available.”

“That’ll be fine, thank you,” Anna smiled. She glanced over her shoulder at Kristoff. He was sitting in one of the big chairs in the expansive lobby, looking idly around. 

“Alright, I’ll just need a credit card for the deposit.”

The clerk thanked her when she handed over her card. As soon as he looked at it, his wide eyes came back up to hers.

“Miss Arendelle, we have many suites available. If you’d only mentioned. You are aware that you are always welcome here as a guest of the Fairmont, are you not?”

That meant they wanted to comp her room. It wasn’t the first place she’d stayed or eaten at that wanted to make sure she was treated the way someone with vast amounts of money often demanded to be treated.

But that wasn’t Anna. That was Elsa, but not her.

“I understand that very well thank you,” she read his nametag, “Greg, but my guest and I would feel more comfortable in a standard room. As long as it has a set of chairs and a table if we are inclined to order room service?”

“Oh yes, indeed Miss Arendelle. Regardless, we welcome you as a guest of the hotel.”

“If it’s all the same, I’d rather you charge my card. We may be here for an extended stay.”

Greg bowed his head slightly. “Of course, Miss Arendelle. Anything else I can do for you? Have a few extra amenities sent up perhaps? We can deliver some robes and slippers?”

“No thank you, I think we’re good for now.”

“How about some freshly cut flowers for your room? I could have them up there in a matter of minutes.”

Anna wanted to sigh but the man was only doing his job. “No thank you, Greg. I do, however, appreciate your assistance.”

“If you need anything, anything at all, just let us know,” he said, sliding over an envelope with some plastic key cards inside.

“Will do,” Anna smiled out of politeness as she grabbed the cards.

She walked over to Kristoff and he followed her without a word, rolling both bags behind him.

Anna glanced in the envelope for the room number when they got into the elevator then hit the button for the twentieth floor. She had seen Greg tap quickly on the computer as he’d talked to her, no doubt changing the room to one of the best available with a great view.

They went down the wide hallway to their room and Anna opened the door. She held it for Kristoff as he came inside, then followed him further into the room.

She felt his eyes on her as she walked to the window and looked out. It had been a quiet ride over. She knew that Kristoff wanted to talk to her to make sure she was okay, but he was also respecting her wishes for not wanting to discuss it. She needed that time to think and to cool down a little.

When they had pulled out of the parkade, Anna felt a sense of foreboding that she’d never set foot in the family building again. Then again, this was the exact same thing that had happened when she told Elsa she was moving to Kamloops with her ex. She wondered how long her sister would take to come around this time. She wondered, if maybe this time, she wouldn’t.

Anna had truly thought that Elsa had learned and grown wiser from that experience, like she had. Yet her sister seemed worse than ever. Maybe she was jealous of the happy life that Anna built for herself out in Kamloops. She loved her little coffee shop and everyone of her friends there treated her exactly the way she always wanted to be treated. They had no idea she was worth so much of course, but she truly believed that even if they did they wouldn’t try and use her.

And Kristoff… he wanted nothing to do with her money. At all! She could tell he was uneasy when she directed him to the Fairmont. She could tell he was also relieved to see that she had gotten them a regular room and not a suite. He might let her pay for things for a while, but pretty soon when he had everything figured out, she knew for a fact he was going to go out of his way to start paying. 

That was what Elsa couldn’t see because she never bothered to take the time to get to know him. 

Elsa didn’t take the time with her ex either. Perhaps Anna could have been spared a lot of heartache if she had. Back then Anna most likely wouldn’t have listened to anything Elsa had to say on the matter anyway, being enamored with what she thought was her first love and all… still, there was a small chance she would have. Maybe if Elsa had given anyone Anna brought into her life the time of day she would have thought differently and welcome her sister’s advice.

But this was the absolute last straw. Unless Elsa came to her with an apology, she knew she’d never speak to her again. Her love for Kristoff was suddenly ferocious at Elsa’s dismissal of his character. She was so completely done with her sister’s attitude that she didn’t even want to see her when she was ultimately proven wrong. 

Kristoff came up behind her and gently wrapped his arms around her. He was such a kind heart and gentle soul that he was even making sure Anna wanted the comfort, knowing she was upset and still being tentative and ready to back away at any indication that she didn’t want to be touched. Her heart just about burst to be held by someone who would be so incredible.

She turned in his arms and slid her palms up onto his shoulders, smiling. “I feel a lot better.”

He smiled gently back at her but said nothing. He knew she didn’t want to elaborate on that.

“What did your Mom say?”

“Oh, she wants us to come for dinner of course,” Kristoff chuckled. “If she had it her way, we’d head over for lunch too.”

“Well why not?” Anna said. “We don’t have anything to do.”

“True enough,” Kristoff said.

His gaze was wandering all over her face. Anna knew that he wanted to kiss her but he was respecting the fact that he believed she didn’t want to be kissed in that moment.

He was wrong.

Anna leaned in, pushing up on her tiptoes, and met his lips with hers. He sighed into her, tightening his grip around her, pulling her face up closer to his. Anna turned her head slightly, putting her nose on the other side of his and parted her lips. She was rewarded by feeling his tongue slide past hers. It sent shivers of desire down her spine.

She didn’t even realize they were moving until Kristoff bumped into the edge of the bed and stumbled. Suddenly her mouth was empty as Kristoff pulled in a sharp breath.

Anna was left aching with want to have his lips on hers again yet also feeling terrible that he had jarred his back. He was trying so hard to hide the pain. 

“Anna,” he said, voice thick. “I want this so bad, but I’m afraid with how sore my back is that I would disappoint you.”

“I doubt that very much,” Anna smiled, placing her palm on his cheek, understanding that it could possibly hurt him very badly to push intimacy on him with his back so sore. “But I don’t want you to get hurt any more than you already are Kristoff. We should probably just head over to your folks’ place anyway. I am dying to meet them.”

“Thanks for understanding,” Kristoff said quietly, smiling at her as he pulled her to his chest, wrapping his arms protectively around her.

Anna sighed with delight in his embrace when he placed his chin lightly on the top of her head; her new happy place. The happiest place in the world.


	7. Chapter 7

Anna was instantly in love with Kristoff’s family. 

As soon as they opened the door, they were pulling her and Kristoff into long and wonderful hugs. Even Kristoff’s brother Sven and his wife April had hugged her without hesitation. It made Anna think of how hesitant Elsa had been to even shake Kristoff’s hand. She felt a pang of sadness at thinking about it, so she pushed her sister from her mind to focus on the happiness and positivity around her.

On the ferry ride over Kristoff had told Anna that his two older sisters wouldn’t be there because they lived in Kelowna. They were both married with three kids a piece. Born only eleven and a half months apart, they were inseparable growing up. They had fallen in love with two best friends while on vacation in the Okanogan on a Spring Break during their first year in College. They both moved to Kelowna shortly after. They even had their weddings on the same day since the guest list would have been nearly identical. So alike they were, that all three of their kids were born in the same month. 

Four years after Cliff and Bulda’s two biological daughters were born, they adopted a young boy of six named Sven who had been stuck in the foster system since the age of one. Kristoff was adopted four years later at the age of eight. Being two years older, Kristoff looked up to Sven, and was the major reason that Kristoff had wanted to become a firefighter in the first place. 

The young boys talked about being firefighters nearly their entire childhood together. They liked to play; their older sisters indulging them by playing citizens in need of rescuing. Kristoff had confessed to Anna that when Sven graduated two years before he did, he missed his brother dearly. Even though they hadn’t played those childhood games in years, Kristoff found him yearning for them when all his older siblings had left home.

Sven had since moved down the island to Victoria where he had been on the fire department there for nearly a decade. He had married his wife April, and after discovering that they were unable to conceive, were in the process of applying for adoption. A process which Cliff and Bulda would tell anyone is unnecessarily arduous and time consuming.

After the boisterous greeting, which left Anna smiling ear to ear, Bulda announced she was going to grab everyone some iced-tea and make some sandwiches for lunch.

Cliff clapped his hand across Kristoff’s shoulder when Bulda left the living room. “I guess I get to have one of my Cubans tonight, don’t I boy?”

“That you do, Dad,” Kristoff laughed.

“You hear that, Bulda, darling?” Cliff shouted.

“Yes, I heard you,” Bulda laughed form the kitchen. 

Cliff flashed them both a brilliant smile and went to help his wife make lunch.

Anna leaned in close to Kristoff. “What was that all about?”

“Oh, Ma made my Dad quit smoking, so as a compromise he’s allowed to have a cigar every time I bring a girl home,” Kristoff laughed and shook his head.

“Why is that so funny?” Anna smiled.

Kristoff looked sideways at her with a smirk. “Because you’re the fist one.”

\-----

Kristoff went outside to sit with his Dad while he smoked his cigar, letting out a faint groan as he sat in the deck chair. He’d been holding it back all night and he was just too tired to pretend it didn’t hurt anymore.

“I hate to see you in so much pain, son.”

Kristoff nodded, not knowing what else to say. He had hated the look on his parent’s faces when he confessed to them what had been going on in his life. He knew his Mom had held back her tears for his sake, just as he knew why she had disappeared to her room shortly after their conversation. She had done that his whole childhood. Kristoff had never once seen his mother cry in front of him.

Cliff was still looking at him closely, waiting. 

“I’ll be okay, Dad. Really, it doesn’t normally hurt this bad. It was just from the bus…”

He hated bringing that up again too. He knew his parents were hurt that he didn’t let them know he was coming, and worse, that he was in that accident. Regardless, there was nothing he could do about it now. They only thing they had asked him was to be honest and straightforward with them in the future. He promised that he would.

Kristoff knew his Dad was holding back saying what he wanted to say. That was one thing that he had learned growing up, that when someone makes a mistake, there is no reason to discuss it more than once. 

“I’ll let you know if I start having issues,” Kristoff responded to his Dad’s unspoken comment.

He nodded once, satisfied, then turned his attention back to the view.

Kristoff watched the smoke from the cigar drift in beautiful lazy patterns against the night sky. He never liked smoking, but he enjoyed the musty smell of his Dad’s cigars. It reminded him of his childhood.

The night was actually pleasant considering the cool weather of the day before. It held the hint of Spring. Anna told him how excited she was for warmer weather. Kristoff had to admit that he was looking forward to some sunshine himself. Life just seemed to be a little easier when the sun was shining.

“Anna is a great gal,” Cliff said, smiling at Kristoff.

“She is,” Kristoff sighed happily, looking out over the water. On weekends there were always a string of ships coming up the straight. Kristoff remembered watching them when he was a kid on the nights their patents let them stay up late in the summer. He always thought they looked amazing, lit up against the black ocean.

“She wants to go on a cruise someday.”

“How do you know that, son?”

Kristoff looked over at his Dad. He hadn’t even realized he said that out loud. “Almost every time I looked over at her tonight while we were eating dinner, she was looking down at the cruise ships and smiling. I kind of got the impression that she’s never been on one.”

“That’s perceptive.”

“Well, we’ve talked a lot too. She hasn’t mentioned taking many real vacations. She talked about family trips when they were kids, but she told me they always flew places in a private jet and usually it was just sightseeing and shopping with their mother while their Dad made business deals or whatever. I honestly don’t think she’s even ever been on a regular plane with people. Why would she, I guess,” Kristoff shrugged. 

“You’re probably right. I’m sure if Anna has ever been out on the ocean, it’s been on a yacht.”

Kristoff nodded. “That’s why I think she looks so fondly on the ships. She likes people. She likes sharing in excitement, I can tell. I’m sure she’d love to go on a cruise.”

“You should take her on one.”

“I want to. I will. Someday.”

Cliff looked at him carefully, as if he was considering his words. Eventually he reached into his back pocket and handed Kristoff a folded piece of paper without saying anything.

Kristoff unfolded it to reveal a cheque for twenty-five thousand dollars.

“Woah, what is this?”

“A little early inheritance.”

“Listen, Dad, I know I’m struggling, but I will figure things out. And you know that Anna is pretty well off.”

“I know who the Arendelle’s are Kristoff. She’s a little more than well off.”

“Well there you go. I don’t need-”

“Before you go and be all noble, this was something your mother and I had discussed ever before we heard about your financial trouble. We are doing this for all four of you.”

“That’s a lot of money,” Kristoff frowned.

“We’re getting old, son. We can’t take it with us. We would rather see you kids enjoy it, or simply use it to pay off some bills. We have more than enough left for our future.”

Kristoff had to admit he was thinking about it. However, he knew deep down he would always feel too guilty about it. “I can’t do it Dad,” Kristoff folded the paper and handed it back. “I’m sorry, I just can’t.”

Cliff regarded the paper but did not take it. He looked into Kristoff’s eyes and nodded slightly. “I can’t make you take it. But might I suggest that you do, and perhaps use some of it to take that beautiful, young lady on a trip that she’d remember. A romantic cruise perhaps?” Cliff raised his eyebrows for emphasis.

“I will take her, Dad. Like I said. Someday, when I can afford it on my own.”

Cliff sighed. “There comes a time in life when every man has to swallow his pride. Life is too short, son. Besides, something tells me that both of you could use a break for a little bit.”

Kristoff turned his eyes down, completely torn as to what to do. 

“I warn you though,” Cliff said, bringing Kristoff’s gaze back up. “If you chose not to take it, you have to deal with your mother. This was her idea.”

Kristoff chuckled. “Oh God, I better take it then.”

Cliff gave him an approving nod. “Good lad.”

\-----

Anna was just about to jump into the bed beside Kristoff when she caught herself. The last thing he needed was for her to jar his back by her bouncing on the bed. He looked so cozy when she came out of the bathroom that she was just too excited to get into bed with him.

She crawled into the covers carefully and leaned over to kiss him. His lips were so soft and warm against her own, but lazy. She knew he was exhausted. She kissed him once more for good measure then snuggled herself against his side.

She was relieved not to have to take a late ferry back to the Fairmont in Vancouver. She was more than happy to spend that time in bed with the love of her life instead.

Kristoff hummed happily as soon as Anna had her arm settled across his stomach. She kind of wished he had taken his sweater off, but she understood it with being in his parent’s house and all. Anna had decided against taking off any of her clothes as well.

“I’m glad your parents insisted that we stay,” Anna mumbled.

“Me too,” Kristoff sighed. “I’m pretty tired.”

Anna was too. The stress from earlier in the day certainly hadn’t helped. She wanted to talk to Kristoff for a bit while she drifted off, but she wanted him to get his rest even more. She had an idea that he had been sleeping poorly before she met him.

She scanned the ceiling, losing herself in thought as Kristoff breathed long and slow beside her. She marvelled at how wonderful being around his family had been, even if his sisters and their families weren’t there. Anna just knew that she was going to love them too when the got a chance to meet. 

Cliff and Bulda had certainly raised their kids right. There was a whole lot of consciousness, compassion and respect amongst all of them. The entire night there had not been a single negative comment. About anything! Every single conversation, every single topic, every word from everyone’s mouth, was nothing but happiness and positivity. Sven and April even made light of their adoption troubles, talking about how much love they were going to give their son or daughter as soon as they welcomed them home after nearly two years of waiting. 

Focusing on the brighter side of things was not new to Anna. She had done it all her life. Even when surrounded by negativity, she chose to focus on the important things rather than dwell on unhappy thoughts.

After watching and participating in such a wonderful family gathering, Anna was more than excited for a future with Kristoff in it. For the first time in her life, things didn’t feel uncertain. She didn’t know what path they would take, but just knowing that she would be taking it with Kristoff, and his family, gave her all the confidence in the world. She had always thought that she would have her own kids someday and she also now had a strong desire to adopt. She hoped that she would have a chance to do both in her future with Kristoff.

Anna slid her palm up to his chest with the thought of children, suddenly wondering when they would get a chance to be intimate. She had already thought about it. Many times. The moment would come, she knew it, but she felt a touch of impatience. She wanted more than anything to know him in that way. 

Kristoff’s arm tightened gently around her. 

“Hey, Anna?” he whispered slowly.

“Yeah?” She whispered back, tilting her head to look at his face. His eyes were closed.

“I’m so happy right now.” He was talking slowly, on the verge of falling asleep. “I feel like the luckiest man alive to have the privilege of sleeping beside you.” 

“Kristoff, you are the most amazing man I have ever met. I am the lucky one… and I am happy too.”

“I wanna take you on a trip,” he said softly, talking even slower.

“Yeah?”

“Yes.” A long pause. “It will be fun.”

“Well, I am excited. Anywhere with you is fun.”

He didn’t respond. Anna assumed that sleep had taken him, until he whispered so quietly that she barely heard him.

“Mmmm, love you Anna.”

“I love you too, Kristoff,” she whispered and shifted herself gently upwards to kiss his cheek, but he was already asleep.

\-----

“Can you believe this?”

Anna was showing him her phone. It was a message from Elsa wondering where Anna was and when she’d be back at the Penthouse that evening so they could talk.

“She has no idea that we even left, she’s that self-absorbed.”

“Well, what are you going to tell her?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she said, shoving the phone in her pocket. “I am effectively shutting _her_ out.”

Kristoff looked at her closely. He didn’t have to say it, he could see she was fully aware it was out of character for her to act that way even thought she was still angry. Especially after spending time with his loving family. He did not blame her one little but, but he knew Anna was the bigger person. Probably always would be.

She sighed, shoulders slumping slightly. “I will text her later.”

Kristoff smiled at her. She smiled back then leaned her head against his shoulder. They looked out on the straight, enjoying the afternoon ferry ride back to Vancouver. They had walked around the decks a bit to enjoy the sunshine and stretch out Kristoff’s back, but the air off the ocean was chilly and Kristoff had suggesting going in to find a seat as soon as Anna shivered.

Ever since he woke up with Anna tangled around him that morning, he had been thinking about life and how quickly it could change. One minute you could be almost at rock bottom, then the next you suddenly have this warm sunshine in your life that reminds you how truly precious each breath was. That’s how he felt about Anna and his life, anyway.

He had briefly wondered where he would be if Anna had actually missed that bus, but he had pushed the thought from his mind as quickly as it had formed. He reminded himself that thinking about things like that was futile. He had to tell himself the same thing after he broke his back. It had tormented him for a time. He had actually let it, before his common sense came back in the form of his mother, and he realized he was goddamn lucky to even be alive.

Now sitting there, with Anna nestled again his side, he started to think about her and her sister. He didn’t want to see them fighting. He didn’t want to see Anna so hurt. She deserved so much more than that.

“Anna,” he said quietly, hoping she was up for talking about it a bit. “Have you ever talked to your sister about your feelings?”

She pulled slowly up from under his arm and looked at him, giving him a gentle smile that she was ready to discuss it.

“I did, once. Well, I tried. For how commanding Elsa appears, she is extremely insecure. It was shortly after I had started to make a couple of friends, this was before I met my ex mind you, and she was always bad mouthing them behind their backs. I mean, I knew they were sort of using me, but I just wanted some companionship, you know? Lord knows I wasn’t getting it from my sister.

“One night, she was being extra vile about having them over to the Penthouse all the time, so instead of getting defensive, I tried to sit her down and talk to her about her attitude and her issues. I suggested she maybe just needed to see a therapist or something, and she just kind of shut down. She started crying, then she locked herself in her room all night.

“They next day, she never said a word about it. She didn’t acknowledge my friends any more, and she never said another word to me about them. Until I brought home my ex, that is. 

“I think that triggered something in her. Before that, she was conscious of the fact that my friends came and went and weren’t a real threat to changing much. But then this guy showed up and things really did start to change. As soon as I brought up moving away it caused the huge fight between us. I finally told her that I was sick of her hatred for how I was choosing to live my life,” Anna sighed heavily. “Do you know how exhausting it is, to have someone always making nasty comments when you’re just trying to live the best life that you can and do things that make you happy? Can you imagine how hard that is?”

Kristoff slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. “Honestly, Anna, I can’t. No one deserves that.”

“That was why I was more than ready to move away, even if deep down inside, I was unsure of a lot of things. I wish I would have done things differently of course, but I was just so sick of everything I had to get away. That created this rift I guess,” Anna sighed. “I don’t know if we can ever get back from it.”

“You will,” he said, placing a kiss on the top if her head. “She’ll come around, I’m sure.”

“Well, until then, I am only going to have the bare minimum contact with her,” Anna huffed. “I just need the break.”

Kristoff smiled to himself. He didn’t want to say out loud that he thought that was a good thing for Anna. He got the impression that Elsa wasn’t exactly the one to reach out and repair the relationship after Anna moved. He was willing to bet that if he asked her, Anna would admit that she had texted her sister and wished her a good day, or something, until she finally got a response back. 

“So, what do you want to do this afternoon?” Anna asked, still tucked under his arm.

Kristoff welcomed the change of subject. They both needed to focus on their merging paths, instead of the poor attitude of Anna’s sister. “Well, I have to go to the bank at some point, but other than that, I am up for anything you want to do.”

Anna was silent for a moment before she spoke. “Do you need me to help out with some things Kristoff?”

She was so quiet and pensive that Kristoff felt a pang of regret for being so bullheaded about her buying things for him. “Actually, I have a cheque to deposit,” he said. “My parents are giving all four of us kids a bit of money. Sort of an early inheritance kind of thing.”

“That’s nice,” Anna said, smiling as she pulled herself from his side to look at him.

Kristoff nodded. “I want to pay off my credit card debt, then I want to take you on a trip. After I find out what happens with my interview on Tuesday of course.”

Anna beamed at him. Her smile was so precious, he felt privileged that it was directed at him.

“Kristoff, can I ask you a favor?”

“Sure,” he said, caught up in her beauty.

“Will you please let me handle your credit card, and any other debt you have? Then you can keep whatever your parents gave you, and just start fresh.”

He had not been expecting her to ask that. That guilty feeling rose up inside of him again. Why was he so weirded out by someone giving him money? He was sure any other person on the planet wouldn’t hesitate to take Anna up on her offer, so why was he? What the hell was wrong with him?

“Please Kristoff?” She reached down and folded his hands between her small palms. “I want to do this for you.”

Cliff had always been a good provider for his family. He’d never seen his Dad need help with finances. Was that why he had trouble being helped? Because he always aspired to be as good of a husband and provider as his father? He wondered, if his mother had been wealthy when they met, if his Dad would have felt the same way Kristoff did now.

He swallowed hard, knowing he needed to say _something._

“Anna… I maxed out both of my credit cards _and_ took out my entire line of credit. It’s a lot of money, and I just feel…” he shrugged, helpless to explain.

“Kristoff. I promise you, that however bad you think it is, it wont even show a dent in my account.”

He blinked at her, suddenly wondering exactly how much money she was talking about. 

“And I want to pay off whatever you have remaining on your mortgage too.”

“What? Anna, no! I just can’t… I mean this isn’t like new clothes, this is-”

“This is nothing. Kristoff. If you want to be with me, this is going to happen okay?”

“But-”

“No buts! We love each other, Kristoff. We both know we’ve found the person we want to spend the rest of our lives with, right?”

“Right,” he said slowly.

“And we will get married someday?”

“Yes,” he couldn’t help but smile at the thought.

“And have some kids?” 

Now she was smiling too. Kristoff nodded.

“If this was the other way around, you would say _what’s mine is yours,_ right?”

She had him there, dead to rights. He nodded again.

“This is no different. What’s mine, is yours Kristoff. We’ll go to the bank together, you can deposit your cheque, and we’ll get your debt wiped.”

Kristoff let out a long exhale. The thought of having no debt was like winning the lottery. He nodded, even if it still felt incredibly reluctant. “Okay.”

“Good,” Anna smiled.

“It is a lot though, Anna. I mean, I still owe a ton on my house, and-”

“Kristoff, you have to understand, that when I say it won’t even put a dent, I mean it.”

He regarded her closely. He kind of wanted to ask, but didn’t at the same time. Would knowing make him feel better, or worse? He decided it probably wasn’t proper to ask anyway.

“Go ahead and ask Kristoff,” Anna smiled at him again.

Her smile was sly. Why? Probably because she could apparently read his mind now. “Okay. Um, well, uh…” he cleared his throat. “How many figures are you talking about Anna?”

“Care to guess?”

“Well… seven? Maybe eight?”

Her gaze wandered his eyes a moment before she answered. “It’s nine. Actually, just shy of ten.”

Kristoff somehow swallowed and inhaled a shocked breath at the same time, and choked on his own spit, causing a coughing fit that had him leaning over in his chair and gasping for air. He was dimly aware of Anna rubbing his back as he tried to wrap his mind around that much money and control his cough. He knew there were billionaires in the world of course, and lots of multi-millionaires - like Anna - but he never, ever, thought, in a trillion years, that he’d fall in love with one of them.

He finally got enough control of the spasms of his throat to realize that Anna was laughing. 

He looked at her, incredulous. It made her laugh even harder.

Kristoff couldn’t help himself. He started laughing with her, coughing a few more times. He suddenly realized that there were eyes on them. A glance from an elderly lady with a small smile, a young teenage couple almost sneering at them, a couple with a baby who was grinning at the laughter…

What a day. The twenty-five grand that his parents had given him, which he had thought at the time was a shit ton of money, suddenly seemed like peanuts. According to Anna’s bank, he supposed it was.

“God Anna! I did not expect it to be so much!” He said quietly, not wanting anyone to overhear.

“Well, to be completely upfront with you Kristoff, it was well over ten before I started my donations.”

“Donations?” Kristoff asked. Good lord, his mind was still spinning.

Anna waved her hand. “Not important. Do you want to head to the bank as soon as we get back to Van then?”

“Oh, um, I actually wanted to grab a shower first.”

“Okay,” she blinked. “Sure.”

Anna smiled, but there was something distracted behind her gaze.

Something… suggestive.


	8. Chapter 8

He came out of the bathroom with only a towel around his waist and Anna decided that she couldn’t take it anymore. She was already frustrated with the fact that he wasn’t picking up on her subtle hints to shower with him. Or maybe he was politely ignoring them because of his sore back. Either way, Anna was officially out of patience.

“Forgot my clean clothes,” he chuckled as he walked over to the suitcase, pausing mid-step when he glanced at her, suddenly looking concerned. “What’s wrong?”

Anna eyed him up and down, taking him in again. His hair was damp, a few beads of water still clung to his gorgeous pecs… she had never seen such perfection. He reminded her of the God of Thunder himself. Except that Kristoff was Kristoff. Every single curve on him, ever single definition of muscle, was wholly _him_ and ultimately incomparable. Anna didn’t think she’d be able to explain to anyone what it was like to look upon his body.

And _Jesus Fuckin Christ_ , Anna was unprepared for the heat that exploded from her core. She knew damn well his back was still sore, but she simply _needed_ to have him. He was just going to have to endure the pain, because there was no way to turn back now. There was only one thing that could satiate her hunger.

“Kristoff,” she said matter-of-factly as she walked over to the bed and started stacking pillows on their ends against the headboard. “I’m not going to beat around the bush here.” She paced a third pillow in front of the other two and hoped it was going to be comfortable enough for him. She met his questioning eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about what’s under that towel.”

His eyes widened and his cheeks flushed a deep pink.

Anna gestured to the pillows. “I know you’re sore but this should be okay if you brace your back against it right?” Apparently, he had no response, so Anna kept talking. “Kristoff I can’t wait anymore, I’m sorry. I need you to make love to me. I need to feel you. I need to have you inside of me, or I am going to lose my damn mind.”

His jaw slacked down as white-hot desire filled his eyes, stoking the inferno between Anna’s legs. She had thought about being with him so many times. Now on the cusp of it finally happening, her entire centre was pulsing with anticipation. She had never wanted something as bad as she wanted him in that moment.

“Anna,” he breathed, “That is the hottest thing I have ever heard in my life.” He took three big strides over to her and pressed his lips to hers, wrapping his arms around her. She felt the towel fall at their feet.

Anna moaned into his mouth, pulling him closer, needing more. She jammed her tongue in his mouth, hands exploring the muscles of his broad back and shoulders. She felt him tug at her clothes, and she helped him wiggle out of them between desperate kisses. 

No sooner were her pants and underwear at her ankles, she felt his hard, hot length press against her belly. She wanted to look at his naked body, but at the same time she was unable to stop kissing him. His mouth was everything at the moment. Anna wondered if he knew how good of a kisser he was.

Kristoff started to move them slowly towards the bed, his mouth never leaving hers, until his legs made soft contact with the edge. He finally pulled back from her lips, breathing hard with hooded eyes. 

“God Anna,” he breathed. “I’ve dreamt of this moment.”

“Kristoff, I need you,” Anna reiterated. She had to make him understand that she wasn’t looking for any foreplay at the moment, besides kissing him of course. She was primed and ready. All she needed was him.

His eyes scanned hers quickly, seeming to understand the depth of her impatience. 

“I need you too,” he said, then pulled her with him onto the bed.

He settled his back against the pillows as Anna had suggested and she was finally able to take in his nakedness in entirety. She quivered with lust to see his magnificent, uncut hardness.

His eyes swept her body as she straddled him and positioned herself above his stiff length. She took him in, and It felt even better than Anna could have ever dreamed. Kristoff let out a loan moan as she lowered herself down, sending shivers down her spine. His passionate sounds alone could drive her mad.

His palms settled on her hips, moving with her rhythm. Anna had paced the room while he was in the shower, all hot and bothered by the though of him being naked. She started moving faster, knowing that she would find a quick release from all her lusty thoughts. One of his hands moved up her back and the other settled at the base of her neck when she arched her spine and threw her head back.

It had been so long, she couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so much pleasure. Then she realized that she had never felt pleasure like _this_ before. Not even close. 

Anna curled forward and kissed him again, sliding her hands into his soft hair. It wasn’t going to be long now. She gave her mind over to the building sensation in her core.

She broke the kiss and put her lips to his ear. “I’m so close,” she whispered.

Kristoff moaned an understanding and matched her faster rhythm. Anna threw her head back as she came, sighing softly as she let the waves of pleasure roll through her, marvelling at how _incredible_ it felt. She’d had plenty of orgasms, but never one that felt this amazing.

Kristoff paused briefly, waiting until it seemed he couldn’t wait anymore. Anna understood and began to move with him as the last of her contractions tapered off. It wasn’t long and he was murmuring ‘ _Oh God, Anna, Yes!’_ His head fell back against the pillows and she felt him pulse inside of her.

She watched his face as he came. His eyes were closed, brows furrowed in extasy, lips parted slightly as he let out a faint moan… Anna thought the he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen in her life. Truly, he was. 

When he was finally still, his eyes fluttered open and he pulled his head up. 

“I love you, Anna.”

“I love you too, Kristoff,” Anna smiled and placed a gentle kiss on his lips before slipping off of him and walking to the bathroom.

She was in a bit of a daze in the aftermath of that beautiful experience. When she was staring at herself in the mirror, she thought that she saw a different person. That had never happened to her before. Why did she feel so different? Was it because Kristoff made her feel different? She thought on it and came to the conclusion that it was his love that made her feel different. Like a new and better person.

She walked out of the bathroom to see him in the spot she had left him, staring thoughtfully at the window with a gentle smile.

“Are you okay, Kristoff? Is your back really sore? You haven’t moved in inch.”

He turned his head slowly to look at her, his gaze wandering over her body before settling on her eyes. 

“I’m perfectly fine, Anna. Just relishing in the moment, I guess.”

Anna smiled at him. “I feel it too,” she said before crawling onto the bed and sat cross legged at his side, facing him. “Is your back okay though? I’m sorry I was so impatient.”

He chuckled. “Oh my God, don’t be sorry, Anna, please. My back is a lot better than it was. Plus, that was actually one hell of an idea. It was very comfortable.”

“Hmmmm, was it?” Anna asked, leaning over and kissing him.

“Listen, Anna,” Kristoff started when she pulled away from his lips. “I am sorry I wasn’t the one to… you know, initiate. I just, I didn’t really know how you wanted our first time to go, and I know I shouldn’t have let that stop me, but I wanted to be able to give you my all-”

“Oh, you gave me your all, Kristoff. And it was amazing.”

Kristoff chuckled. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I know,” Anna smiled. “You were worried because of your back. But listen Kristoff, if you are thinking that wasn’t perfect for the first time, get that out of your head right now, because it was. It was everything I have ever needed.”

Kristoff cocked an eyebrow at her and she knew she’d hit the nail on the head again. 

“Come on,” she said with a laugh, sliding off the bed and bending down to grab her clothes. “If you want to get to the bank before it closes, we should leave now.”

\-----

Kristoff ignored the seething jealousy in the bank managers eyes. It certainly wasn’t helping how weird he still felt about everything.

He knew that he would get over it, that he would come to terms with the amount of money that Anna had, but he still had a hard time wrapping his mind around it. Two days ago, he was worried that he was going to lose his house. Now, he could paint his front door red.

Anna finished her last signature on the bank forms then handed them to the manager to look after. He nodded and said that everything was in order and told them he would process the transfers immediately, then Kristoff’s debt would be gone.

Kristoff took the cheque from his parents out of his wallet and handed it to the man, explaining that he needed to deposit it as well. The manager gave him a quick look that seemed to say ‘ _Who the hell are you, and how did you get so lucky_?’ Kristoff had to wonder if Anna was seeing it too, or if he was imagining it in his mind.

It wasn’t that much longer then they were finally on their way, walking the three blocks back to the Fairmont.

“We should go to dinner to celebrate,” Anna smiled at him when they were in the elevator back up to their room.

“Sure,” Kristoff said. He knew he should be thinking about other things, but all he could think about was making love to Anna again. He hadn’t been able to stop picturing her naked, even in that immature bank managers office.

He wondered if Anna knew how gorgeous she was.

As soon as the hotel door was shut behind them, he was pressing his lips to hers. He couldn’t help himself.

It didn’t take long and they were in much the same position as the first time. Kristoff had tried to pay more attention to Anna’s body, but she was still so impatient to come together, he rolled with it and let her take the lead. He’d do anything she wanted.

She came so quickly again, Kristoff was helpless to follow her. He idly hoped that Anna wasn’t disappointed with how quick everything seemed to be, even if they were both reaching satisfaction. He wanted to give her more, but she was a little more than he could handle at the moment, especially since she was demonstrating just how much she wanted him.

It would get slower with time, he knew, then he would have his chance to explore Anna’s body some more and make sure he could give her as much pleasure as he could. For now, he decided to just enjoy ever single precious moment of this desperate love-making.

They lay down naked under the sheets afterwards, Anna snuggled against his side. Neither of them seemed to have the energy to do anything else, so Kristoff turned on the television to catch the score of the Jay’s game the night before. 

He let his mind wander as Anna fell asleep. He watched her for a time before he felt his eyelids droop, agreeing with the sleeping love of his life that a nap before dinner was a great idea. He gave into the tiredness and fell asleep himself.

\-----

Anna couldn’t get over Kristoff’s bedroom eyes in the candlelight. Now that she had finally known him intimately, she felt a deeper connection to him. Mind, body and soul. She basked in the warmth of his eyes throughout dinner.

They were talking idly about what they could do with their time leading up to Kristoff’s interview. They made a few plans to do a few things, but Anna had a feeling they were going to run out of time with how much she knew they’d be spending in that bed in their hotel room. She thought that Kristoff knew it too. She could see in the way he was looking at her, that he was already thinking about getting dessert to go and getting back up to the room.

Kristoff had suggested Anna showing him one of her favorite places to eat in the city, but she had opted to go to the wonderful Notch8 restaurant in the Fairmont, not wanting to have to drive or take a cab. She wanted to celebrate with Kristoff then high-tail it back to the room for some more of that beautiful love. She needed to get her fill of him before she let herself start to explore more of that magnificent body of his in other ways.

Depending on what happened with Kristoff’s interview, they would decide where they wanted to live. They both felt a deep pull to stay in Kamloops, but if Kristoff were to get the job, they would move back to Vancouver. Anna told Kristoff she would sell her apartment and suggested Kristoff keep his cabin. That way they would always have a place to escape to for weekend getaways. He agreed that was one hell of a great idea.

They talked about where they would live, should they both find themselves back in Van. Neither of them was too keen on an apartment downtown. They both wanted to get a dog and needed a yard, so a house was what they were going to buy. Kristoff never said anything about the paying of the house, but the look in his eyes suggested that he understood Anna would pay for it outright. No point in paying interest in a mortgage when you had a couple hundred million in the bank, right?

He was still having a hard time accepting it, she knew that, but she could also see that he was making a giant effort to embrace it. It wasn’t something that was going to go away, after all. Anna even had some plans on helping out Kristoff’s family in various ways, although she decided to wait until their relationship was a little more settled. Give his family plenty of time to get used to her since she had a feeling there would be much of the same as the way Kristoff had first reacted.

She wished she could get them all to understand how badly she wanted to do these things. She had already spent a fortune on supporting the charitable organizations she was passionate about. Many of them had even had to be anonymous since she didn’t want to deal with the attention associated with giving so much money to a cause.

When the conversation touched briefly on money, Kristoff had asked her over dinner what she had meant earlier about donations, so she had told him just that. When he inquired about which causes she supported, she listed them all off. He was wide eyed and shaking his head in disbelief when she was done.

“Incredible,” he muttered. “You are an incredible person.”

Anna blushed and waved it off like nothing, because it was nothing. She was just doing what she thought was right for someone who had as much money as she did. Spread the wealth. Help make the world a little better place, and all that.

Kristoff had asked if her parents had been the same way. She had confessed to him that no, they were not. They helped out with a few local things here and there, but compared to Anna, it was virtually nothing. Elsa was like them. She would donate for more political reasons, rather than ones of the heart. For Anna, it had never been a question. 

Kristoff looked almost sad as Anna was telling him this. He even turned his troubled eyes to the table. He brought them back up when Anna touched his arm, and they were glassy with emotion. Seeing that of course, made Anna want to cry.

“You are too good for me,” he whispered. “I don’t deserve you, Anna.”

She got upset, frustrated that he thought that way, and frustrated with herself that she couldn’t properly convey to him that she felt the same. She herself didn’t understand why Kristoff had fallen in love with her. He was this courageous, honest, hard-working, gentle, man, that treated Anna with the upmost respect. She had never met anyone, _anyone_ , in her life that treated her that way. He was the one who was able to see the woman behind the money. Why was she worthy of his love? 

Honestly, how did he not already have someone? How could a man as beautiful inside and out as Kristoff, not be attached? He should be married with kids already, because he was the complete package.

_No_ , she told herself. _This is stupid. We are being idiots._

They both needed to stop this stupid thinking right away. Their relationship was intensely strong, but still so new. She was sure that was the reason for their insecurities. They needed to get these silly ideas out of their heads immediately.

“Kristoff, you are my soulmate. Aren’t I yours?”

He blinked, his mouth dropping with regret at his words. “Of course, Anna! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make it sound like… I just…” he let out a breath and stared at her, completely lost for words.

Anna pushed her emotion away and smiled at him. “We were made for each other. We deserve each other. Don’t you think?”

He smiled back at her with clear understanding. “Yes,” he nodded. “You are right, Anna. We were meant to be.”

They smiled brilliantly at each other before moving the conversation back to their exciting future. Neither one of them brought up such silly nonsense, ever again.

When the waiter asked if they wanted to see the dessert menu, Anna didn’t hesitate in ordering the chocolatiest thing they had, to go. They both eyed each other with anticipation sparkling in their eyes, until the check came. When it did, Kristoff didn’t hesitate to reach for it and pull out his wallet. 

Anna wondered if he knew how much that turned her on.

\-----

“A star.”

Kristoff chuckled. “Right.”

He put the tip of his finger down on her naked back again, moving it slowly.

“That’s easy. A smiley face. Give me a hard one.”

“Okay,” Kristoff smiled and put his finger on her skin again. He finished and waited.

“Do it again.”

He traced the invisible drawing with his finger one more time.

“Hmmmm. Felt like a bunch of shapes.”

“That make what?”

Anna was quiet for a moment. “A house?”

Kristoff laughed. “You got it.”

She rolled over to face him. Kristoff tried hard not to stare at her naked breasts. She giggled when he couldn’t. 

“Can I ask you something Kristoff?”

“Sure.”

“If you could have any job in the world, would you still want to go into fire investigation?”

Kristoff blinked at her. The thought had never occurred to him before. He understood that Anna meant that he now had access to the means to change his career path, but did he really want to?

“Something to think about, right?” Anna asked quietly.

Kristoff nodded slowly, still processing. He missed being a firefighter. In that moment, he missed it more than he realized. The job, the risks, the incredible people, the satisfaction of helping others… He didn’t realize just how much he yearned to have that back in his life.

But that was not meant to be. He could never do the job again with the state of his back. Was his love for the job what spurred him into the fire investigation path in the first place? Of course. And yet there was a whole world of other things that he could do. He could have even had a job already, if he had chosen a different path. That suddenly gave him pause.

He had thought about doing training for the job, but didn’t know how he would be able to lead by example if he physically couldn’t show how things are done. He had thought about dispatch, but knew he would be much to fidgety to simply sit behind a desk while others did the job he loved. He had even thought about teaching fire prevention in schools, until he learned that he would be unable to make a living doing as such. 

Therefore, he had come to the fire investigation conclusion. He did all the research and went through every course to be ready to do the job. All he needed was a little on the job-experience and he knew he could make a career out of it for the rest of his working life.

That had been the plan anyway. He had a second interview, but that by no means meant he was going to get the job. What then, if he missed out again? Keep moving from province to province trying to get into the field? He had Anna to think about now. They were going to build a life together. He didn’t want to drag her all over the place trying to make something work when it seemed clear that it never would.

“I didn’t mean to hit a nerve,” Anna said gently, putting a palm on his cheek to bring his eyes back to hers.

“You didn’t, I just… I honestly didn’t know what I was going to do. I was ignoring what would happen after, even though I didn’t think I would get the job… but that was the depression I think. I’m pretty damn sure that you are the only reason I got called back for another interview.”

“Oh Kristoff, I don’t believe that.”

“No, no, it’s true,” he shook his head. It was all suddenly clicking into place. “Like I said, I even had a bus ticket back and I didn’t tell my parents I was coming. I felt like a failure, so I was convinced I was going to fail. Then I met you and my life changed. You kissed my cheek before I went into the interview. I felt on top of the world when you did that. I have a feeling it showed.”

“Oh Kristoff-”

His thoughts were coming too quick now and he interrupted her. “I do want that job, Anna. I had all that time when I was recovering to think about what I was going to do with my life and that was the conclusion I came up with. I became excited by it. It helped drive me to heal and get better. I had slipped into a very negative frame of mind after the accident, but I felt optimistic when I decided to do that.

“It would allow me to work closely with firefighters and chiefs. Still be part of the job without doing the back-breaking labour of it. And I could still help, in a way, to pinpoint the cause of the fires. Maybe prevent future ones, you know?”

Anna was nodding, her face softened by emotion.

“I do want to do this Anna. I honestly don’t know what else I could do to feel as satisfied as I was when I was on the department.”

“Then if you don’t get this one, we’ll find you one elsewhere.”

That was what he didn’t want, but Anna mentioned earlier when they were deciding where to live, that she would follow him to the ends of the earth and back.

“What if we have to go all the way across Canada for me to find a job?”

Anna smiled. “Then I will embrace my inner Newfie.”

“You and me, to the ends of the earth?” he raised an eyebrow. It didn’t matter what they’d said earlier. He still couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have Anna in his life. 

“You know it.”

“God, I love you.”

“Kiss me, Kristoff. Kiss me like you mean it.”

He obeyed and he finally got to understand what it was like to take his time with Anna.

It was better than he had ever imagined. 


	9. Chapter 9

Was this one of the best days of Kristoff’s life so far? 

Hands down, abso-fuckin-lutely. 

The sunshine hit his face as soon as he stepped out of the building. Despite still being early Match, the day was warm and gorgeous, invigorating him even more. He felt on top of the world. 

Anna smiled as soon as she saw him, waiting on one of the benches outside of the building. Kristoff grinned at her, unable to contain his excitement as he jogged over.

He scooped her into his arms as soon as she stood, pulling her into a deep, passionate kiss. He didn’t care who was watching as his tongue slid past her parted lips. Kissing Anna was cherry on top of the most amazing day.

He pulled back to catch his breath a moment, only to have it taken away again by the happiness in Anna’s eyes. 

“You got it, didn’t you?”

He nodded, grinning again. 

Anna’s eyes welled up with happy tears. “Oh Kristoff, I am so happy for you! This is wonderful news!”

His throat tightened painfully, suddenly caught up with Anna’s emotion.

“Kristoff, if you are going to cry I am going to start sobbing,” Anna chuckled, removing her hands from his shoulders to wipe underneath both of her eyes with her slender fingers while she blinked at the sky.

He took a steadying breath, willing himself to calm. He didn’t think he had ever shed tears of happiness before. Everything just felt so surreal. 

The days leading up to the interview had been some of the happiest in Kristoff’s life. Him and Anna did nothing but make love, go on long walks, eat whatever they felt like whenever they felt like, and enjoyed every single minute of each other’s company. 

That very morning, they had made to most beautiful, passionate love. Now he officially had the job he’d been working so hard for so long to get. Definitely best day he’d ever had so far, even if it was eventually going to pale in comparison to all the best days he knew awaited him. 

“Anna, I am so happy. I am so happy that we can stay here, close to our families.”

Anna smiled at him. They bad both talked about it before. They knew Elsa would come around eventually. Neither of them was angry anymore. They would just let her come to terms with things on her own, both convinced that everything would be happy once again, in time.

Getting this job in Vancouver was the absolute best-case scenario and Kristoff hadn’t even told her all the amazing details yet.

“We have to celebrate, Anna. I want to take you out. Anywhere you want to go.”

“We could be in the hotel room all night for all I care,” Anna said, setting her hands back on his shoulders.

Kristoff shook his head. “No, this calls for a celebration. I want you to think of the best place to celebrate and we are going to go there and talk and get loose and enjoy life.”

“Anywhere, huh?” Anna raised an eyebrow.

“Anywhere.”

“Well, if it’s my choice, I want to be where I’m comfortable. Let’s go to Olaf’s.”

“Fantastic idea,” Kristoff grinned, then pressed his lips back to hers.

\-----

Olaf’s wasn’t actually called Olaf’s, but rather _North Mountain Pub._ Kristoff made a comment that he hadn’t even noticed the name the first time that Anna had taken him there.

It wasn’t a member only weekend night but Anna assured Kristoff they would pretty much have the place to themselves.

She was right, of course. Being located smack dab in the middle of the older part of the downtown district, most of the weekday patronage was lunch and after-work happy hour crowds. Dinners were quiet except for Friday and Saturday, which was why Olaf’s father had started the exclusive weekend nights in the first place.

The suburban masses it seemed, wanted to travel downtown on the weekend. They were happy to stand in line and wait to get into the places. Either that or just make the night of hopping from place to place since all the bars were in close proximity.

Olaf’s dad thought that was ridiculous. Living there himself, he believed that there should be somewhere for the people who lived in the downtown that they could go to where they wouldn’t have to wait in line. What was it about the skyscrapers that attracts some people in the first place anyway?

North Mountain Pub had the answer.

It was a small transition period. Eventually barely no one new tried to come to the place on the weekend. It wasn’t advertised, it was simply word of mouth that got it that way. All the members, wealthy and non-wealthy alike, enjoyed the fact that they had an exclusive place to go not far from where they lived.

Olaf directed them to Anna’s table. Kristoff asked her, when the old man walked away, if he ever took a night off.

Anna informed him that, no, this Pub was his life. 

Kristoff figured as much.

It was hardly no time before there were two pints of Guinness being clinked together in some celebratory cheers, to who else, but themselves.

“So, you have to tell me all about it, Kristoff,” Anna said.

Her eyes were twinkling so beautifully that Kristoff had to take a second to gather his thoughts.

“Okay,” he said, taking one of the pretzels and munching on it, thinking of where to begin. “So, I got to meet the man who’s position I am taking. His name is Gus and he is retiring at the end of the year. He explained that he wanted to be in charge of training a replacement himself.”

“Well that’s pretty great isn’t it? That way you will get that on-the-job training.”

“Exactly. Apparently, they’ve interviewed a lot of guys for the job already, but none of them had gone through the courses, like I have. Gus told the hiring manager that if the initial interview went well to invite me back for a second one to meet him.”

“Well that’s great! I mean, going through all those courses already shows initiative, right?”

Kristoff shrugged. “I don’t really know if that’s the reason, or because then they don’t have to spend the money to train me, but I felt like Gus and I really connected when we were talking about the job. 

“I explained to him what happened with my back, then he told me his hip issues were the same reason he had to quit the department. Then we talked about the love of the job and I mentioned how much I missed it. I kind of got the sense that he missed it too. After all those years, he looked like he still longed to go back on a truck.

“Anyway, the final call was up to Gus, so when we finished reminiscing, he offered me the job, even though I was the youngest applicant.”

“Oh Kristoff, I’m so happy that you got it.”

“You haven’t even heard the best part yet,” he smiled at her before he took a swig of his beer. “They knew I’d be relocating from Kamloops, so instead of having me start right away since I’ve already done the courses, they asked me if I wanted those three months it would have taken, to get settled here.”

“Really?” Anna smiled. “That’s… wow, that’s amazing.”

Kristoff nodded. “I kind of got the impression that Gus was only retiring because his wife wanted him to. I don’t think he’s in a hurry to leave. He’s definitely a friendly, talkative guy. He really seems to love the job, so I don’t think he wanted to rush leaving.”

“I am sure you’ll love the job too.”

“I know I will and I am so excited to start, but I’m even more excited about the next couple of months. We have all that time with nothing to do except figure out where to live, move our shit here, and for me to take you on that trip.”

“Kristoff, this is all so amazing, but if we don’t have time for the trip, that’s okay.”

Kristoff shook his head. There was no way he was going to pass on the opportunity to take Anna on the trip of a lifetime.

“Anna, when we get back to the hotel tonight, I am going to show you what I have in mind, then we can decide where we want to go and plan it together.”

She made a happy little squeal sound. “Kristoff, I am so excited!”

Her eyes were wide and happy as she grinned at him. Kristoff’s breath was taken away again with just how amazing it was to have her look at him that way. He had never met anyone who made him feel the way Anna made him feel. 

He made up his mind right then and there that he was going to buy a ring and propose to her on their Cruise.

“I’m excited too, Anna,” he said, reaching across the table and taking her hands into his. “I can’t wait to start this new chapter of my life with you.”

“I feel the same,” Anna sighed happily.

He looked at her a moment, taking her all in again. He wanted to try and explain to her just how she made him feel, except he didn’t quite know where to start. It was unlike him to get mushy about anything, yet Anna seemed to bring that out in him.

He released her hands and grabbed his pint to take a sip, gathering his scattered mind. There was still a lot of things they were going to need to figure out. Most importantly, would be making the transition back to Vancouver.

“What about your coffee shop, Anna? What will you do with it?”

Anna turned her eyes up in thought as she took a sip of her beer. “I don’t know. I thought about hiring someone good to run it for me, but I kind of want to sell it. I want to move onto something else when we move here.”

“Like what?”

Anna shrugged. “Not sure yet. I just know I have to be doing something. If I didn’t have anything to do, I’d go crazy.”

“You know, I am sure there are a lot of people in your situation that don’t do jack shit, just because they don’t have to.”

“More than you would realize,” Anna said, sipping her beer.

Kristoff smiled at her. There was no way she knew how amazing she was. He was just about to open his mouth to tell her as such, when her phone dinged.

She picked it up and looked at it.

“It’s Elsa.”

“Oh?” Kristoff asked. Anna had texted her sister that morning, confirming what Kristoff had suspected in the first place; that it was Anna who offered the olive branch first after a fight.

“She wants to know what I’m up to when she gets back from France next week. I think she wants to talk, even though she can’t seem to come right out and say it.”

“Why is she in France?”

Anna shrugged. “Who knows. Something to do with the corporation I’m sure.”

“Can I ask, why you aren’t working at your parent’s company too?”

She laughed. “Way too boring. I tried. Believe me, I tried. But I’m just not cut out to spend my life in board rooms.”

“I can definitely understand that,” Kristoff chuckled with her. 

Anna nodded and started typing away on her phone. When she was done she put it face down on the table. “There, I told her I didn’t know what we would be up to when she got back, so we can get together when I’m not busy. Ball is in her court now. If she is serious about getting together, she’ll have to just work around my schedule for once,” Anna sighed. “I just want to make sure that this time she understands that I am not going to listen to her objections anymore. She just had to accept that this is my life to live, not hers.”

“You want to talk about it?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I want to know more about this trip you’re taking me on.”

“Uh uh, no way,” Kristoff grinned. “I want to wait until we are back in the room, so I can show you.”

Anna stuck out her bottom lip in a mock pout. “What if I can’t wait that long?”

“You’re just gonna have to,” Kristoff chuckled. “Now come on,” he raised his glass. “One more cheers to the life that awaits us.”

Anna picked up her glass and clinked it against Kristoff’s. “Salud.”

\-----

“A cruise?” Anna squeaked.

“Yup,” Kristoff said, looking from the screen of Anna’s laptop to her smiling face. “I want to take you on a trip you’ve always wanted to take.”

“How… how did you know?” Anna shook her head, incredulous.

He shrugged. “Picked up on a thing or two. All we have to figure out now, is where we want to go.”

“Oh, I would go anywhere with you Kristoff.”

“Same, but we do have to pick a place,” Kristoff chuckled.

“I know, silly. But we don’t have to decide right now. What’s the plan anyway? You want to get the move out of the way before the trip?”

“Well, I had a few idea’s on how we could do things.”

“Let’s hear them.”

“Okay, well I have to go in on Friday and sign all the paperwork for the new job and whatnot, so I was thinking that maybe we could just head out to Kamloops after and spend a few days packing. We should be able to make it to my place by dinner.”

“Oh, I’d love to see your cabin!”

“I can’t wait to show it to you, Anna. It really is in a beautiful spot. Lots of tree’s, nestled right at the base of the mountain. And it’s all Crown land behind me too.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

Kristoff opened his mouth to carry on with his idea when Anna spoke again.

“Wait, do you have a real fireplace?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“No reason,” she smiled coyly. 

“Uh uh. Now you have to tell me,” Kristoff smirked at her. He had an idea what she was thinking, but he wanted to hear her say it. 

“Well, I just have this… fantasy. That’s all,” she shrugged and playfully looked away.

“Does it involve a bear skin rug by any chance?”

Anna’s eyes shot back to his as she smirked. “Maybe. Why? Do you have one?”

Kristoff roared with laughter. “No, but I have a big, fuzzy, white sheep skin laying on my floor in front of said fireplace.”

“No way!” Anna laughed with him. “That’s even better!”

As long as Kristoff lived, he would never tire of hearing her laugh. They had been doing plenty of it since getting loose at Olaf’s, both a little drunk and having the time of their lives.

“Well,” Anna said between giggles. “I’m looking forward to living out that particular fantasy.”

She was grinning at him and her eyes were twinkling again. Kristoff suddenly lost interest in planning the trip. The only thing he wanted to do was take her to bed again.

Her expression changed when it seemed she was reading his thoughts. She leaned her face closer to his, looking at his lips. “I can’t wait for Friday,” she breathed.

Kristoff’s only response was to kiss her.

\-----

“So, tell me more about your plan after we go to Kamloops.”

She was running her hand slowly up and down his chest. Her caress felt so good that he was tempted to fall asleep. 

Since Anna was starting the conversation back up again, she obviously wasn’t tired despite the late hour. They had nothing to do but sleep the next day away. Why not talk until dawn if that was what she wanted. 

“Okay, well I thought we could just go hang out for a few days and take some time to pack up our things. That way it’ll be easier when we move,” Kristoff said.

“Makes sense.”

“I kind of wanted to go on the trip when we get back, but I was thinking that maybe we should find a house first. That way once all the paperwork is signed, we can take the cruise while we’re waiting for possession.”

“That’s perfect, Kristoff. Then when we get back we can grab all our boxes and move in right?”

“Exactly. We can even go on the computer while were in Kamloops and figure out what we’re looking for and decide on a neighborhood.”

Anna was suddenly silent at his side. Kristoff shifted a little to look at her face. She looked back up at him, smile fading ever so slightly. “You know… this feels like it isn’t real. I keep feeling like things can’t get happier and then they do. It’s like-”

“We’re the luckiest two people on the planet?”

Anna nodded slowly. “Yeah. Something like that.”

Kristoff understood the sudden somber tone. He knew they had both had very happy times in their lives only to be turned upside down by a series of bad events. It was as if every positive thing seemed to have some sort of challenge looming on the horizon.

“Anna, I understand what you are thinking, trust me. But we have to just live in the moment. If my past has taught me anything, it’s that after every storm, there is always a ray of sunshine.”

She nodded. “You’re right. Life is full of ups and downs, but that’s what makes it worth living.”

“Truer words,” he mumbled, suddenly focused on her lips. He didn’t know what it was in that moment that suddenly had him thinking about nothing else but making love to her again. 

He rolled over to his side and pushed up on his elbow, hovering over her. 

“As long as we’re together, we can take whatever life throws at us, Anna.”

“You and me, to the ends of the earth.”

“You know it, baby,” he smiled and kissed her.

\-----

“Kristoff, wake up.”

He woke to feel Anna’s naked body pressed against his back, hugging him tight. If felt wonderful to have her warmth against his skin.

“Good morning,” he said, still groggy from sleep, rolling around under her arm to face her.

“Morning!” Anna beamed. “I have a surprise planned for today.”

“A surprise huh?” he said through a yawn.

Anna nodded, pinching her bottom lip in her teeth. 

Kristoff chuckled. “Are you going to tell me then, or show me?”

“Show you,” she smiled, hand slipping under the covers and finding his morning wood. “But this first.”

“You mean that’s not the surprise?” Kristoff half moaned as Anna slid her hand delicately up and down his length.

Anna giggled. “Nope. But I promise you’ll like it even better.”

“Hmmmm, I doubt that very much,” he said slowly as her hand slipped lower and started massaging his balls.

“You’ll love it.”

“Not more than this,” Kristoff sighed, closing his eyes. There was no way she had any idea who good it felt to have her hands on his sack. No one had ever touched him in such a way. It was beyond wonderful.

“Feels good, huh?”

“You have no idea,” he whispered, relishing in every single caress her fingers made around his nuts. Her touch was so loving and gentle that Kristoff had a hard time caring what the surprise was. He wanted to know of course, but her hands just felt so good. He would let her touch him as long as she was willing.

She was willing to touch him for a while it seemed. He almost dozed off again at how good it felt, when Anna shifted on the bed. 

“Want to fool around a bit before we head out?” she whispered, lips pushed gently to his ear. 

Kristoff opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her. “You are amazing, you know that?”

Anna smiled gently before she leaned over and kissed him.


	10. Chapter 10

“Well we can’t drive around in a rental car forever.”

Again, Kristoff found himself at a loss for words. He had thought Anna’s surprise would be something a little less… expensive. Now he found himself in a pristine show room surrounded by brand-spanking new vehicles. He was willing to bet that none of them had over fifty clicks on the odometer.

He wanted to tell her that they could get something used, that he didn’t need something so extravagant. Then again, he had never owned a new vehicle before in his life. It was extremely temping. 

“So, are you thinking truck or SUV? Or a car maybe?” Anna continued at his silence.

“Um,” Kristoff thought, looking around the showroom. His truck at home was old and beat up, he was sure it was going to be a write off from getting side-swiped. It would be nice to get a new one.

And yet, as much as he liked trucks, he had always wanted a Jeep. There was a shiny new 2019 Wrangler staring him in the face, seeming to almost whisper his name. He often went on line at home and looked up Wranglers. They were all the 80s and 90s models though. Never in his wildest dreams, did he think he’d ever have a chance to get a new one.

“I mean, if you don’t like Mopar we can go to another dealership,” Anna said.

He looked quickly over at her with a smirk. “Mopar huh? Was your Dad a Mopar guy by any chance?”

Anna laughed. “As a matter of fact, he was. And I am my father’s daughter.”

“Well, you’ll be happy to know that I am in fact a Dodge man myself. My old truck is a Dodge. Or was, I suppose.”

Anna nodded, knowing the hardships that had befallen that truck. “Why don’t you get a new truck then? It’s always handy to have a truck.”

“True,” Kristoff said nodding his head, glancing over at the Jeep again. He had always wanted to have a Jeep to play with. Something he could put a lift kit in and some big knobby tires for off-roading and exploring logging roads. There were a lot of those behind his cabin in Kamloops. He dreamed of having a Jeep to take up them one day.

A truck did make more sense, however. He turned to agree with her but she had already started talking.

“Or a truck and a Jeep. Why not? We’ll probably need a truck to move our stuff back here anyway, right? I know we both want to do the move ourselves instead of hiring a company. Plus, that way we will both have something to drive.”

Kristoff pulled in a deep breath realizing Anna had seen his look back over to the Wrangler. God, this was so bloody different. It would be the same thing if they were in a store and Kristoff told Anna to pick out anything she wanted and he’d buy it. Except the difference was they were in a place filled with things that carried a hefty price tag. 

He glanced at her eyes, wide and excited. Dammit, he needed her to know that he wasn’t always going to be this way. He needed to show her that he wasn’t going to let it bother him anymore. She wanted him to accept it and she wanted to do these things, like buy them a pair of new vehicles. He was going to have to let her.

“Why not both,” he shrugged. “And you’re right, we’ll need a truck for the move.”

Anna blinked at him a second before she broke out into a bright smile. Her eyes said it all; that was what she’d been waiting to hear from him.

They meandered around a little more, holding hands and looking at different vehicles until they were approached by a salesperson. 

_This guy has no idea how lucky he is,_ Kristoff thought. 

He was about their age. Perhaps that’s why he approached them. All the older salesmen seemed to be too busy helping out other people; a woman with a Louis Vuitton bag, a man in his mid-fifties dressed in a business suit, a couple who both looked well-to-do. Kristoff had to wonder how many of them were actually going to buy. Little did they know, the young salesman who approached them was about to make two times the commission.

“Hi there, folks! Has anyone helped you out today yet?”

Anna turned to Kristoff and smiled. She kept her focus on him until Kristoff finally clued in to what she had on her mind.

“No,” Kristoff said, taking the lead he knew Anna wanted him to take. “We haven’t.”

“Well, my name is Brandon,” he said sticking out his hand. “I’d be happy to help you.”

“Kristoff,” he said, shaking his hand.

“Anna,” she said when Brandon offered her his hand to shake.

“Did you guys have any questions on anything? Or I can come find you in a bit if you’d like to look around a little more.”

Kristoff threw a quick glance to Anna, making sure this was still all okay. He knew it would be but he’d never really been in charge of anyone else’s money before. She smiled at him to keep going.

“We, um, are actually looking to buy today,” Kristoff said slowly, trying to think of how he would be doing this if it was his own money. He realized suddenly that he never thought he would own a brand-new vehicle in his life. He had just assumed he’d be buying used trucks of Kijiji for the rest of his days.

“Alright,” Brandon said, keeping his reaction measured. “What did you have in mind?”

“We, um, are interested in a truck,” Kristoff said.

“And a Jeep,” Anna added.

For as much as the young salesman was trying his best, Kristoff noticed the excitement take to his eyes at the realization they were in the market for two new vehicles.

“A truck and a Jeep, alrighty then. Did you want to discuss models, options? Why not come over to my office and we can go over what’s available.”

“Sounds good,” Kristoff smiled. 

Anna slipped her hand through his elbow as they followed Brandon to his small office. They took a seat in the two chairs across his desk as he started to tap away on his keyboard. Anna looked over at him and smiled, offering her hand. Kristoff slipped his fingers between hers, smiling back, wondering what other surprises Anna was going to come up with in their future together.

He looked around Brandon’s office. There weren’t too many personal touches, except for a photo of him and a young blonde, looking happily in love. It made Kristoff smile. The new background on his phone was a similar picture of him and Anna; a selfie she insisted on taking on the ferry ride back to Vancouver after visiting his family. Every time he opened his phone it made him happy.

Brandon started talking about what they had on the lot and which options they came with. Kristoff wasn’t too sure what Anna was thinking until a gentle squeeze of her hand when Brandon was talking about the truck, let him know. 

Apparently, they were going fully-loaded.

After a bit more discussion on the Jeep, Kristoff asked Anna to pick the colors. Between what was available, she picked the blue-grey for the truck and white for the Wrangler. It surprised Kristoff a little, since he would have chosen the exact same. 

As soon as Brandon brought up financing, Kristoff had no idea what to say. How do you conduct yourself when you can buy a brand-new vehicle without needing to get a loan? He had absolutely no idea.

Lucky for him, Anna stepped in.

“We will be paying cash for them. We don’t need the Jeep right away but we’d like to take the truck today. We’ll pay extra for the quick service if it’s required.”

Kristoff appreciated the hell out of Anna saying _we_ instead of _I._ Clearly, she wanted to make the equal partner impression that Kristoff controlled the money as much as Anna did. What difference would Brandon know anyway? He would never know the truth behind the finances if they acted like a couple with a joint bank account.

Perhaps Anna _had_ seen the way the bank manager had been looking at him the other day.

Brandon wasn’t giving him that ‘ _how did you get so lucky’_ look, however. Brandon was looking at him like he wanted to know his secret; like he was dying to ask what he did for a living, or what his past was like to be able to afford to pay cash for two brand new vehicles. 

Kristoff knew the impression he made. He was wearing some nice clothes but he still had the marks of a working man. His hair, his calloused fingers, how he let his knees fall apart instead of crossing his legs when he sat in a chair. He suddenly saw it in every one of his mannerisms. He looked the part but didn’t act it. No wonder Brandon was curious.

“We can certainly arrange to get you the truck as quick as possible,” Brandon said, leaning back a little in his chair. Kristoff knew he was preparing to get down to business. He was a car salesman after all. 

“We can discuss the sticker price on these vehicles,” Brandon continued, “to determine how much room we’ll have to get you the truck today without additional costs.”

“Oh, we don’t have time to haggle,” Anna said, giving him a dismissive wage. “We’ll pay full price but we would like the truck this afternoon after we’ve gone to the bank to get the certified cheques.”

Brandon blinked at them and Kristoff could suddenly see that the young man was wondering to himself what _he_ had done to get so lucky. Imagine, selling two brand new cars without having to discuss price breaks with the customers. Full price meant more commission. If Kristoff was in his shoes, he’d be beside himself too. 

“Um, sure, we should be able to…” Brandon shook his head slightly, a little flustered. “Well, I should maybe check-”

“Check with your manager to see what you can come up with,” she turned to him. “Kristoff, can you give Brandon your cell number so he can call us and tell us when everything will be ready.”

“Sure,” Kristoff smiled at her, appreciating the way involving him. He rattled his number off and Brandon promised that he would call as soon as he had talked to his manager and figured out the costs for the cheques. He tanked them, profusely, then handed them each his business card before he ushered them from his office to door. 

Kristoff was following Anna out the door when a gust of chilly air hit his cheeks, reminding him of the trip they were taking on Friday.

“One other thing, Brandon,” he said, turning back around.

“Yes of course. What do you need?”

“We want a set of the best rated winter tires installed on the truck. We are doing some highway travelling soon.” 

“Oh, yes indeed. I will make sure that is done. Anything else?”

Kristoff threw Anna a glance. She was looking at him with admiration and a gentle smile. He could tell she appreciated the fact that Kristoff was thinking about how nervous she was about snow-packed highways. The Coquihalla would still be very much winter driving, even in March. He just wished he would have thought of it sooner, so it didn’t seem like too much of an after-thought.

“Nothing at the moment,” Kristoff said, unable to take his eyes off Anna’s. He understood immediately that they were going to have to take a detour back to the hotel room before the bank. Sometimes he was a little too wrapped up in his own mind to pick up on subtle hints. Not this time. This time he could read Anna’s mind as clear as day. All she was thinking about in the moment was being tangled up in the sheets together.

He grabbed her hand and started off for the rental car in a quickened pace.

\-----

Kristoff could see it in the eyes of every single salesman as soon as they walked back into the dealership. He was sure that Brandon was getting much of the same look; pure jealousy. 

The young salesman greeted them warmly and guided them back into his office to sign the paperwork. 

Brandon pushed all the paperwork in Kristoff’s direction and he had no idea what to do. The certified cheque from the bank was in Anna’s name. She should be the one signing all the papers. 

Anna spoke up before Kristoff could say anything on the matter. She explained to Brandon she _‘didn’t even think about it’_ and that they _‘wanted the vehicles in Kristoff’s name’_ even though the bank drafts were in hers. He might have wondered why she insisted on that but he knew. She was doing this for him, plain and simple. 

Brandon was eager to please. He informed her that it was no issue, then he took all Kristoff’s information and sent it in to have the registration emailed back. He left the office for a time to print out some things for them to sign, leaving him and Anna alone.

Kristoff wanted to tell Anna that she didn’t need to put the vehicles in his name, even though he had no intention of actually doing so. He could tell that she truly enjoyed doing these things. He wanted to make her happy, so he kept his mouth shut. 

Anna seemed wrapped in her own mind as well. She reached over for his hand. Kristoff took it in silence, smiling back at her.

Brandon came back not long after and they went through all the rigamarole of paperwork. It didn’t seem to take as long as Kristoff would have thought. Before he knew it, they were headed out to the back of the lot to take possession of their truck.

Brandon did a check over with them, asking them if there was anything else they had though of. He helped them both pair their phones to the Uconnect system and talked idly about some of the features of the truck, when it seemed like he had run out of things to say on it.

He paused before he spoke again, taking a quick look around him to see who was in earshot.

“I really want to thank both of you,” he said quietly. “I’ve been struggling a bit lately, but now with your generous purchases, I can finally afford to buy my girlfriend an engagement ring.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Anna smiled. “Is that the pretty woman in the picture with you on your desk?”

Brandon nodded. “Her name is Katie. We’ve been together for three years now. I already have the ring picked out. I actually just put it on layaway the day before yesterday. To be honest, I was a little worried I wouldn’t be able to come up with enough money in the time frame they gave me, but now I can pay for it outright. So, thank you both, again.”

“I’m glad we could help you out a little,” Anna smiled. “Where did you put it on layaway? I wasn’t aware that Jewelry stores did that.”

“Oh, Turner’s Fine Diamonds, over by the airport. It was the only place I could find that actually offered to take the payments I thought I could handle. It’s a Mom and Pop type place. I think they are just trying to get as much business as they can to stay afloat.” Brandon shrugged. “That’s the impression I got anyway.”

“Well, I am happy for you,” Anna said, very sincerely.

Brandon nodded with a smile. “Thank you. That means a lot.”

He stuck out his hand to Anna first. She shook it as he muttered his thanks again. Kristoff shook his hand as well when it was offered to him. Brandon bid them both a good evening, then stood at the edge of the lot watching as Kristoff hopped in the brand-new truck and drove them away.

\-----

Kristoff was in love with the truck. Even the feel of the steering wheel under his palm gave him a deep sense of pleasure. It was wonderful to be able to drive something so nice. Not to mention that new-car smell. It was actually intoxicating in a way. He never thought he’d ever own a new vehicle and now here he was, pulling down the streets of Vancouver in a gorgeous sixty thousand-dollar machine. 

When they stopped at a light, Kristoff let his eyes wander over the interior again, marvelling at how far the design had come compared to his old truck. It was amazing how many advancements and options the vehicle had. The fact that he could play his music from his phone by simply hitting a button on the touch screen in the dash, was incredible. Rain-sensing wipers, auto dimming lights, remote start, seat warmers _and_ seat AC… this truck was something else. He had no idea the new models had all these features.

The light turned Green and Kristoff took off, suddenly realizing that he had been driving aimlessly with no idea where they were going. 

“So where to m’lady?” Kristoff asked, wondering what Anna had in store for the remainder of the day.

“Let’s head over to Turner’s Fine Diamonds.”

“Where?” Kristoff glanced over at her. “Wait, isn’t that the place that-”

“It is,” Anna smiled coyly. 

Kristoff put his eyes back to check the road a second before looking back at her. He knew in an instant what she had in mind. 

He nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

It was a bit of a trek through rush-hour traffic. They mainly talked about the differenced between Vancouver and Kamloops and how they were both looking forward to being back on the coast.

Kristoff parked and they went into the store. There was an older man and woman behind the counter, seemingly the mom and pop of the shop as Brandon has mentioned. The woman was talking to another customer and the man was polishing something. He looked up when they walked in and offered them a big smile.

“Good afternoon. Anything I can help you with today?”

“There is actually,” Anna said, walking up to the counter where he was standing. “I want to help out a dear friend of mine and pay for something he has on layaway.”

The old man looked a little surprised. “Only thing we have on layaway right now is an engagement ring we sold to a nice young man the other day.”

“Brandon, right? Yes, I want to pay in full for it, but I was hoping you could maybe just keep it a surprise, until he comes in to make a payment? Then you can tell him it was already paid for?”

The old man glanced quickly at Kristoff before looking back to Anna. He was studying her face very closely, making Kristoff a little uneasy. He had to wonder if this was something that Anna had encountered before. She seemed unfazed by the man’s scrutiny. Perhaps then it was something she was used to.

“We don’t,” the older man paused, shaking his head a little, “I mean, we haven’t really done anything like that before.”

“I get it,” Anna said. “I know it’s a little weird but I just want to help him out without making a big deal out of things. You understand?”

The old man still looked unconvinced as he continued to study her. “Alright. I suppose we could do that. Not like the fella is going to complain, is it?”

“I doubt it very much, but if you are worried about repercussions of any kind, I will leave you my information.”

The old man remained silent for a moment. “Well, have a look around while I box up the ring and draw up the receipt,” he said finally. 

Anna smiled brightly. “Wonderful! Thank you very much.

She wandered away when the old man did, Kristoff following her over to where she bent down to look at watched under the glass countertop. 

“Why do I get the feeling that this isn’t the first time you’ve done this,” Kristoff leaned over and whispered in her ear with a smile.

“It most certainly isn’t,” she whispered back, still looking at the selection of men’s watches. “Oh, that one would look amazing on you,” Anna said, looking over at him.

Kristoff couldn’t bring himself to look at the watch she was pointing at. He was lost in her eyes, wondering for what seemed like the millionth time how he ended up with someone as amazing as her.

“You know I am buying this for you, right?” she said at his silence.

He nodded slowly. “Let me guess, you are going to pick a few things out to help out the shop owners. Aren’t you?”

“See,” Annas grinned at him. “Now you are getting it.”

Kristoff shook his head with a big smile and followed her without a word as she walked the length of the case, looking at more watches and necklaces. By the time she had made it all the way around and back to the register where the old man was ready to take her payment, she announced to him that she had seen several items that she would like to purchase. 

The look on the old man’s face was priceless. His wife, now without a customer to attend to, came over to see what was going on.

Her eyes widened with recognition as soon as she looked at Anna’s face.

“Miss Arendelle! To what do we owe the pleasure of your business today?”

The old man looked quickly over at his wife, then back at Anna. Kristoff watched him make the sudden connection.

“Just help out a friend who wants to propose to his girlfriend and grab a few things for ourselves,” Anna said.

The old woman smiled. “That’s wonderful. If there is anything I can help you with, please let me know. My name is Genevieve, and this is my husband Manny.”

“Pleasure to meet both of you,” Anna said.

“The pleasure is all ours Miss Adrendelle,” Manny said. “I apologize for being-”

Anna held up her hand. “Please, nothing to worry about.”

“Well let me help you with the other items you are looking to get,” Genevieve stepped in.

Anna went around the showcases again, pointing out all the things she had her eye on. When they got back to the till, there was a watch for both Kristoff and her, a necklace with a circle of diamonds, a pair of platinum cufflinks, and a pair of very sparkly diamond earrings. Kristoff had to swallow the lump in his throat when Anna was told the cost. He needed to remind himself again, that she had _that_ much money. Plus, she was doing what she loved; helping people. 

Genevieve started to nervously talk Anna’s ears off as she pulled out her credit card. It was obvious the old woman did not expect Anna to purchase so much. It was written all over her and Manny’s face, how appreciative they were.

When everything was boxed up and paid for, the old couple thanked her profusely. Kristoff was amazed when Anna told them that if she ever had more jewelry to buy, she would come back. He wondered how many places she had told those exact same words to. He had an idea that if he asked, Anna would admit that she had a very specific place to go for a lot of things for the simple reason that she was helping out struggling or small businesses. 

Her compassion was boundless. Kristoff didn’t think he would ever fully come to understand the depth of her good nature. 

As they were leaving, walking up to that shiny new truck that Anna had bought for him, Kristoff suddenly had a whole list of things he wanted to do to show her how much he appreciated her. He was going to take her to dinner, go back to their room and give her a massage, then he was going to pleasure her until she asked him to stop.

She deserved it. She deserved the world. 

As quick as his desire had flared up within him, so had his anger. He knew that Elsa hadn’t responded to Anna’s last message. That was something she did not deserve. From anyone, let alone her sister. He knew Anna was hurt by Elsa’s silence but he could still see her resolve. She was moving on and he just wished that Elsa could do that too. He was starting to wonder how long it would take. He was also a little worried that it might never happen.

He wouldn’t mention those feelings to Anna, however. He had to stay positive about the situation, for her. He wanted to be strong with her, stand by her side as her best friend and lover. He wanted to be as strong for her as she had been for him when they had met. He had been at his lowest then. She had pulled him back into the light of life.

She still liked to joke once in a while that he had saved her life. He knew however, that she had saved his. He didn’t know what would have happened had he never met her. He actually shuddered to think about it. He was convinced that without her help and support, he would never have gotten that job. He would have botched his interview and been on a bus back to Kamloops that night with no hope in the world. He would have had to come clean to his family. He would have had to sell his place and move back in with them, not to mention how much they would have had to bail him out. That twenty-five thousand dollars would have been moot in the amount that he had owed.

Still, there was that ever-present nag in his mind that spoke up whenever he seemed to get too down on things, reminding him how grateful he was to be alive. So many had died on the job, he was one of the lucky ones. He had to fucking remember that. How long would it have taken him to do that, had he not gotten the job? He didn’t want to think about ungrateful he would probably have been. He needed to put all the hardships behind him, once and for all. 

“Enough of this nonsense.”

“Sorry, what?” Anna looked over at him and smiled. 

Kristoff hadn’t even realized he had muttered that aloud. He looked over to meet her eyes. 

“Oh, I was just thinking out loud. You want to head for dinner now? I’m kind of hungry.”

Anna nodded enthusiastically. “Me too. Where do you want to eat?”

“You pick. Show me another one of your favorites.”

“Oh! I know the perfect place. It’s on the way back. You are going to love it.”

“I know I will,” Kristoff took his eyes off the road to give her a smile. “You know the best places.”

“This place has the most amazing pasta in the city, I swear! They have all kinds of ravioli and linguini dishes. Oh, and they have this angel hair pasta lasagna that is to die for! I think I am going to get that. Well, maybe. I get it every time. I should really branch out and try something new. But it is just so good! I think I’m still going to get it, I just can’t help myself. We can always go back another time and I can try-”

Just like that she was off on a tangent. Kristoff hung on every word, wanting to drink up as much about her as he could. Despite what he had thought when she first sat beside him on that bus, he could listen to her talk for hours.

Amazing how things could change.


	11. Chapter 11

Anna found herself as calm as she had ever been. She studied Kristoff’s profile as he kept his focus on the road, realizing just how much she loved him, how much she trusted him. She didn’t even trust her own life behind the wheel of a vehicle on the high mountain pass. With Kristoff she did.

She would always trust him with her life. No question.

“What?” he smiled, giving her a quick sideways glance. 

Anna smiled back at him even though he didn’t see it. He had been vigilant to keep his eyes on the road, knowing full well how highway winter driving conditions made her nervous. “Nothing.”

“You’re staring,” he said, gaze forward.

“No, I’m admiring. There’s a difference.”

“Oh, is there now?” he chuckled.

The sound of his laugh could warm her on even the coldest of days. 

“I’d like to stop by the coffee shop sometime while we’re here,” she said, changing the subject.

“You’ve made your decision?”

“I have,” Anna said. “It’s the right one, I think.”

“Anna, as long as you follow your heart, you always make the right decision. I’ve been fortunate enough to witness that.”

Anna smiled, thinking of the conversation she would have with her staff. “I just hope they all take it well.”

“They will,” Kristoff said, glancing back over and giving her another smile.

“Anywhere you want to visit while we’re here?” Anna asked gently. She hadn’t brought it up until then for the simple fact that she didn’t know how to broach the subject with him. He had hinted at things when they talked about their pasts that gave Anna a vague idea of what was going on. Now seemed like a good a time as any to see if he was ready to elaborate.

“Probably the firehouse,” he said, “to say hello to the boys. I haven’t seen them much at all in the last year.”

Anna nodded but did not respond. She didn’t want to push him. No one liked being forced to talk about sensitive subjects. She would wait until he was ready.

They were quiet for a time. Anna accepted that Kristoff was not going say any more, until he started speaking softly. 

“When I was in the hospital I had a ton of support from them. I didn’t know how much it would continue after I was home and couldn’t be a firefighter anymore. I expected that everything would taper off. I never anticipated how much they would still care,” he sighed.

Anna waited, while he considered his words. 

“I was in such a bad place for so long that I ignored a lot of it. I didn’t return texts or calls. I left emails unanswered. I even stayed in bed when someone would come knocking on the door. Eventually… they all stopped trying.”

“Oh Kristoff,” Anna started. He began speaking again like he needed to get it out.

“My parents came and stayed with me of course. They were here the entire time I was in the hospital and when I started my rehab. They slept on the pull-out couch. I didn’t realize at the time how endlessly patient they were with me. That was until Ma pulled me aside one day when my Dad offered to go for groceries.

“She told me straight up that I had to change my attitude. She got right in my face too,” Kristoff smiled faintly at the memory and Anna could picture it like she was there.

“She helped me understand how lucky I was,” he continued, “to be alive first and foremost, and that I was able to walk. Deep down I knew it, but I guess I was still reeling from the loss of the only life I knew how to live. Looking back, it was quite foolish of me to act that way.”

“Anyone would act that way in your situation Kristoff,” Anna said softly. 

“Lots of people do, sure. But there are still so many that never let something like an injury get in their way, especially when lucky enough to survive.”

“Everyone copes in their own way.”

“True,” he said softly. “I would like to think that I would have eventually smartened up on my own but I’m not so sure. I have a bad habit of getting stuck in my own mind. I am just so thankful that my parents could be there for me, to lift me up when I had fallen down the deepest, darkest pit of my life. I regret that I let myself forget all their love and support after they went home.”

Kristoff clenched his jaw and Anna understood immediately that he was about to tell her something that he had never told another living soul. She reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder, letting him know that she was there and she was ready to listen. 

He took his hand off the wheel a moment and paced it on her palm. He let their touch linger before he put it back on the wheel. Anna knew they would be holding hands if there wasn’t snow pack on the roads. She appreciated all over again how careful he was driving.

“I rekindled my friendships with everyone when I gave my attitude and adjustment. I started visiting the firehouse again, encouraged with the new path I had decided to take with fire investigation. Then when things didn’t go how I expected them to go and I started hemorrhaging my savings, I slipped right back into the depression. It got worse when I had to start declining the guys offers to go grab a beer because I couldn’t afford it. It just spiraled from there. I ended up right back where I was when I broke my back, no one wanted to try anymore. 

“Like I said, I never even told my parents tat I was coming to Van for that job interview. I was in such a dark place, I felt hopelessly lost. I felt sorry for myself. I told myself that I was never going to get that low again, and I did. I think even worse than the first time.”

He sighed deeply with regret but also like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “I can only hope they will forgive me. Again.”

Anna let him gather his thoughts. It looked like he needed to. Finally, when he clenched his jaw and sighed again, she spoke.

“They will, Kristoff.”

“How do you know?” he asked, tone glum, not even glancing at her.

“Because you would if you were in their shoes.”

He smiled after a moment. “You’re right,” he agreed. “I would.”

“Well, there you go,” Anna said. “I am sure you are all cut from the same cloth. I mean, it takes a special kind of person to be in the front lines with emergency response, right? They will understand.”

After a couple seconds Kristoff nodded. “I would forgive any one of them for acting the way I did.”

They were finally making their way onto dry roads as they headed down into Kamloops and Kristoff offered her his hand. “Thank you, Anna. Once again, you have saved me.”

Anna slipped her palm in his and choked back the lump in her throat. “We saved each other,” she managed.

His response was to squeeze her hand gently. It was all she needed. They had been on the same page the day they met. Anna knew they always would be.

\-----

“Well you weren’t kidding,” Anna marvelled as Kristoff drove down the long driveway to his place. “This is beautiful!”

It was beautiful. With the stress weighing so heavily on his shoulders the last time he’d seen his house, he had almost forgotten how perfect it was. The drive was narrow, with the forest pushing against the gravel road until it opened up into a small clearing where the cottage was. 

He felt a slight pang of regret that he’d be leaving it. They were keeping it and he knew they’d visit often, yet he still felt a little sad to no longer reside there. Wherever they chose to live in Vancouver, he doubted very much it would be as peaceful and secluded as the small cottage he had called home for the past seven years.

“And you can’t even see, let alone hear your neighbors with all the trees, eh?” Anna said as he pulled up to the house and parked their brand-new truck.

“That’s right,” Kristoff mumbled, suddenly struck by the way Anna was smiling at him. It didn’t matter that they would be living in the bustle of the city. Anna could make anywhere a home.

No one knew what the future would hold anyway. Maybe someday they would find themselves in a secluded paradise once again. They needed to start building their life together first, then they could decide together on what paths awaited them.

Kristoff parked the truck in front of the single garage attached to the house and slipped to the ground. He put his arm above his head and stretched out his back. It was a little stiff from the long drive, but compared to the initial pain from the accident, it was nothing. He was surprised how fast his body seemed to bounce back this time. 

He opened the back door and grabbed his and Anna’s bags. It didn’t take long for them to get settled in the small space. The only separate rooms were the bedroom and the bathroom. The kitchen, dining table and living area were all in the remaining space without much room to spare.

“It’s not much,” Kristoff shrugged, thinking again about the expansive penthouse that Anna had grown up in.

He watched her look around the room, trying to gauge her appraisal. It wasn’t until she met his eyes and smiled that he felt himself relax. 

“This is wonderful, Kristoff. This is exactly what I pictured when you told me about your place.”

“Yeah?” Kristoff could not help but smile back at her. She was making his spirits soar again.

“Especially the fireplace,” Anna glanced over as she pinched her bottom lip between her teeth as she waggled her eyebrows at him. 

Kristoff had to laugh. Ever since she had brought it up, it had been a constant on his mind as well.

\-----

As far as living out fantasies went, Anna couldn’t imagine experiencing a better one.

They had dinner by candlelight, put on some soft music, lit a fire, then snuggled up on the incredibly soft sheepskin rug. 

While they had initially started a conversation, Anna was too engrossed with his hooded eyes shimmering with the light from the fire, to concentrate on it. Kristoff was clearly distracted as well. As soon as Anna leaned in, he closed the rest of the distance and kissed her.

They undressed each other slowly. The warmth of the fire and the softness of the rug under Anna’s naked back added a new level of pleasure to the attention Kristoff was giving her as he kissed his way down her body. 

Their lovemaking was passionate and relaxed. Anna wrapped her legs around Kristoff’s waist, relishing in his laid-back pace. It was exactly what she wanted, to prolong the ultimate pleasure of having him inside of her. It was always extra special when he took his time.

The each met release at the same time. When their bodies were done quaking with pleasure, Kristoff reached up and grabbed a throw from off the arm of the loveseat. He slid it overtop of them and pulled Anna against his side.

It was one of the most romantic nights of Anna’s life. Easily better than she ever could have imagined. She snuggled against Kristoff and closed her eyes in the moment of pure contentment.

\-----

“You mean he never told you about the calendars?”

Anna shook her head. “Never came up.”

Russell roared with laughter. He was as tall as Kristoff, thick and strong like him, except he had flawless mocha skin and a head of curly black hair. “Kristoff, man, you have to show her.”

Kristoff’s cheeks were red. “I don’t know if I even still have it,” he mumbled.

“Bullshit!” Russell roared as the other firefighters chimed in with laughter. Kristoff blushed even harder, smiling from ear to ear.

As soon as they had walked into the firehouse, Kristoff had been greeted with such warmth, that Anna felt her emotions caught painfully in her throat. From the pitch of Kristoff’s voice when he first started talking to them, it seemed that he did too. 

After introducing Anna to all his old buddies, Russ had introduced them to all the new guys on staff. Kristoff shook every one of their hands with clear respect.

There was a lot of idle chat amongst Kristoff’s friends after they had migrated to the lounging area where the television was playing sports centre on mute. Anna tried to keep up but a lot of their stories seemed to be inside jokes. She was just happy to see Kristoff so relaxed. She knew how much what happened in the past had been bothering him. Now he looked like he was walking on air to know that there were no hard feelings.

Their stories were so seamless that she wasn’t even sure how the subject came up, but now she was dying to see the calendar.

“You have to show it to me,” Anna piped up, grinning at Kristoff with impish glee.

He turned his gaze to her, eyes sparkling and cheeks flushed, looking so alive that Anna felt her heart flutter in her chest. “Maybe if I can find it,” was all he offered. Anna could see the truth. He knew exactly where it was, he just didn’t want any more heat from his buddies.

“Don’t let it go, Anna,” Russ looked over at her with a brilliant smile. “This fucker used to be the fittest guy in the department. I’ve never seen anyone since with his endurance. You make sure he shows you what he looked like in his glory days.”

“You’re no slouch yourself,” Kristoff grinned, trying desperately to get himself off the topic of conversation.

“This is true,” Russ said, puffing out his chest in exaggeration. “And I am still just as fit as I was five years ago. You’ve let yourself go, buddy.”

They all laughed jovially, knowing it was simply a joke at Kristoff’s expense. While he was certainly softer, he was still as muscular as any of them.

“Say Kristoff,” one of the guys whose name Anna could not remember, piped up. “You hear about what happened to Jackson? He got some dude’s wife pregnant and ran off with her to Toronto.”

“What? You’re kidding!”

“No, I swear!” the guy laughed and began to regale Kristoff with the tale, the rest of them popping in here and there to elaborate on details. It was quite the soap opera apparently. One of the most exciting things to happen as of late, they all agreed. 

Anna hung on every word, unable to keep her eyes off of Kristoff for long. She was simply captivated with his joyous smile. She understood in that instant why he had been so heartbroken to realize he would no longer be a part of the team. She would have been as well, no question.

But that was all in the past. Going forward they would all keep in touch. Her and Kristoff would be back to Kamloops often, after all. She imagined there would be a lot of get-togethers with these guys. As they all broke out in ruckus laugher, she knew there’d be plenty more of that as well.

\-----

“So where is this fireman calendar?”

Kristoff chuckled. “Why did I even think you would forget about that.”

“How could I?” she grinned at him. “Come on, I want to see it.”

Kristoff sighed playfully. “It’s over there on the book case somewhere,” he gestures lazily with the flick of his hand.

Anna skipped over to the book shelf. It didn’t take her long to see the thin calendar poking out further than the books it was shoved between. “What month?” she asked as she grabbed it and flipped it open.

“October.”

Anna flipped past the other months of shirtless firefighters until she found October. Her jaw dropped as soon as she laid her eyes on him. 

This was not the Kristoff she knew. The Kristoff she knew was muscular and also soft and round on the edges. He had a light smatter of blond hair on his chest. His waist was firm, but there was still lots of squishy parts to hug and snuggle. The Kristoff she knew was strong and thick and everything she could ever dream of.

The man in the picture was a bronze Adonis.

The hard cut of his muscles stood out against his lean frame. He looked like he had to be at least twenty pounds lighter back then. In fact, Anna didn’t think there was an ounce of fat on him. 

His chest was smooth and bare, his deeply tanned and glistening skin looking like he had spent an entire summer working outdoors without a shirt on. In contrast, his hair looked even more blond, standing out like a golden halo against his complexion.

He was wearing the signature yellow firefighter pants with the suspenders handing down the side, sitting so delightfully low on his waist that Anna could read the deep cut of his hips to what she knew was barely hidden below the edge of the material. If those pants were sitting any lower, he would be flashing the camera.

Anna’s eyes trailed back up to his face. He was posed with an axe in one hand, arm raised and handle resting against the large curve of his muscular shoulder, looking off into the distance. It was almost as if he refused to acknowledge what was doing; posing for a provocative photo. The calendar was a wonderful fundraiser for the fire department of course, but even Anna could recognize the seriousness in Kristoff’s face, unlike the other faces she’d glanced at when she flipped through the calendar. Even for something so lighthearted, his expression was all business.

Somehow, that made him even hotter.

“Well,” Kristoff chuckled. “What do you think?”

It took Anna a minute to pull her eyes from his picture. When she met his gaze, he was looking at her with a lopsided smirk, like he was prepared to laugh with her about it.

Laughing was the last thing on Anna’s mind. Her thoughts were suddenly consumed by the thought of what was hidden below the pants in the picture, that intimate part of him that she had the privilege to enjoy. She tossed the calendar on the coffee table and attacked him.

There was no time for a romantic fireplace setting like the night before. There was barely enough time to get to the bed. It happened to desperately fast that they were both left naked and panting, laying on their backs and staring at the ceiling.

“Wow,” Kristoff breathed, after he finally caught his breath.

Anna hummed an agreement and curled up against his side, wrapping her arms around his wonderful waist.

“That was incredible,” he mumbled.

“Hmmm, it was,” Anna agreed.

“So, you like the older, more fit version of me better?” he chuckled.

“Actually, I prefer you the way you are now,” Anna smiled and looked up at him. 

“Sure, sure,” Kristoff smirked, his eyes full of humor.

“Honestly I do,” Anna insisted with a giggle. “I just… well I mean… _Damn!_ That picture! Wow. You are the hottest firefighter I have ever seen.”

“Was,” Kristoff said, his eyes immediately showing regret at his word choice and tone.

Anna brushed it off. No sense in bringing that back up now. “You wouldn’t happen to have a pair of those pants laying around… would you?” 

Kristoff smirked and raised and eyebrow. “I might be able to dig up a pair. Another fantasy of yours?”

“It is now,” Anna laughed and kissed him. “Come on. Let’s make some dinner. I am famished!”

*****

_At the same time that Anna and Kristoff were making themselves dinner in Kristoff’s cabin, a young man named Brandon went into a jewelry store to pay for an engagement ring for his girlfriend._

_Imagine his surprise, when the shop owners smiled brightly at him and announced that the remainder of the ring had already been paid for. Imagine how he felt, to come to understand that the young couple that had purchased two new vehicles from him, had immediately gone to the store and covered the cost of the ring._

_Naturally, he was beside himself._

_The entire drive home, glancing down ever once in a while at the boxed-up ring, he tried to make sense of everything. The commission cheque from the sale of those vehicles was going to cover the cost of the ring but not much else. He imagined that they would be engaged for a few years before they could save up more for the wedding. Without financial help from either of their families, the cost was going to fall on their shoulders._

_What now? Now they had enough for the small ceremony and reception they had planned. Not only that, there was going to be a bit left over that they could put a down payment on their dream honeymoon. All they needed now was to borrow a little from the bank and they could have the wedding they had dreamed about._

_Brandon felt tears prick behind his eyes. He wondered if the young couple - who’s names had seemed to have slipped form his mind already - knew how much their gesture was going to mean for him and Katie. How could they understand what a profound effect that they had on their future? He wondered idly, if he would ever have the chance to thank them._

_As soon as he walked in the door, Katie asked him what was wrong. She could see the emotion that he had not been able to shake all the way home._

_He didn’t explain. He couldn’t just then. He got down on one knee instead, in the small apartment that they had sacrificed and saved for to buy themselves, and he proposed._

_After an exuberant, tear-filled ‘yes’, they hugged while Katie cried tears of happiness. Those tears turned into full on sobs when he told her about the kindness of the strangers. She knew just as well as him how stressed they were about being able to afford everything._

_That night, as Brandon lay awake listening to his fiancé sleep, he sent out a silent thank you to the little red-head in the braids and the big, blond man. Truly kind and generous people, he mused, as he finally gave into sleep, dreaming of nothing but a future with his soon-to-be wife._


	12. Chapter 12

Kristoff pulled himself gently from Anna’s sleeping embrace. He slipped into his boxers and walked over to the sliding glass door that lead out to the private balcony, opening and closing it behind him quietly, not wanting to wake Anna. They had been up late celebrating and he wanted her to get some rest. 

He was tired himself but there was simply too much on his mind to allow him to get back to sleep. The last couple of weeks for him had been a whirlwind. It seemed like only yesterday they had returned from Kamloops, ready to start looking for a house and planning their cruise. Now they had purchased their home, had packed up their lives ready to move when they got back, and were on their dream cruise vacation. Life was wonderfully perfect at the moment.

Kristoff inhaled the sea air deep into his lungs. It was exhilarating to be out on the ocean, though not as exhilarating as the answer that Anna had given him last night when he proposed to her on the bow of the ship under a sky full of stars.

She had cried, even through Kristoff was pretty sure she knew he had planned to propose. That was the very reason he suspected that his new credit card and account balance were where they were. Anna knew what he was up to and she didn’t want him to feel hindered in any way by his finances.

It had been a complete shock to him, although honestly, he should have suspected she would want to do something like that for him before long. It all started out innocently enough. She had shoved a bunch of bank papers under his nose and told him to sign them. Caught off guard, he did what he was told as he asked her what he was signing.

“A credit card for you,” she said, shuffling the papers back in order. 

“I have credit cards,” he answered, not liking where this was going. She wasn’t looking at him and he knew she was up to something.

“Well, this one just happens to be linked to my account,” she said slowly, finally brining her eyes up to meet his.

Kristoff felt badly again that he was clearly making her feel tentative. He had agreed to accept Anna doing these things and he had to let Anna know that he would always honor his promises to her.

“Thank you,” he said, leaning over and pulling her into a passionate kiss.

It wasn’t until he pulled some money from his account the next morning from an ATM that he realized exactly what Anna had done. He grabbed his statement receipt from the machine without thought and glanced at it as he walked back to where Anna was waiting in their new truck.

He nearly fainted to see his new balance. He had stopped dead in his tracks in the middle of a busy sidewalk while people grumbled that he was in the way. He blinked stupidly at the paper, sure there was some mistake.

Then everything clicked slowly into place.

It wasn’t just a new credit card Kristoff was signing those papers for, it was also a transfer of funds. Anna had snuck a cool fifty-million in his account without him knowing.

He brought his eyes up to meet Anna’s looking at him through the passenger side of the truck. She had her lip pinched nervously between her teeth giving him a look that was guilty as hell. Kristoff suddenly remembered to breathe, pulling in a deep, calming stream of air. He knew two things; he would have absolutely refused if Anna told him about her intentions, despite his promises, and that there was absolutely no way he could be mad at her for this. 

Despite his efforts, he knew Anna was aware he was having trouble adjusting to his new lifestyle. It was harder to embrace than he thought and this was her way of putting an end to that once and for all. There was nothing he could do about it. He loved Anna, and her money was her reality. There was no way he could distance himself from that. He thought he could, but it was impossible. The sooner he came to that realization, the better off they would both be.

He smiled at her as he started to walk back to the truck again and her face instantly relaxed. He hopped behind the wheel and threw the little slip of paper in the center console. “Next time, just tell me up front,” was all he said.

Anna nodded with a grin, clearly relieved that was all he had to say on the matter.

Kristoff looked over his shoulder through the glass doors at his sleeping bride-to-be. Even though they could have afforded the most expensive cabin on the cruise ship, Anna had chosen a simple suite. It had luxuries to be sure, but it wasn’t over the top. Kristoff again had to wonder if that was for his benefit, or if she would have done the same even if she was alone. The more he thought on it, the more he came to realize that it was probably both. Anna did not flaunt her wealth, but she wasn’t afraid to exercise her desire for the finer things in life.

Kristoff still felt a little guilty. As much as he tried not to acknowledge the amount of money sitting in his account, it had not taken him long to use it for it’s intended purposes. The ring he had gotten for Anna for instance. If left to his old account balance, he would have gotten a smaller ring to make sure he had enough to pay for their cruise. But, since he didn’t have to worry about money ever again, he let himself indulge in the ring he chose for Anna. It was not an in-your-face statement rock, but it certainly didn’t come across as inexpensive either. He worried a little, that Anna might find it a little ostentatious regardless of how much bigger some of the other rings had been, but she had fawned over how perfect it was. Kristoff was glad, because as soon as he saw it, he thought of her right away.

The next thing he started to spend money on immediately without much thought, were tips. He was never afraid to tip well when he received good service, but now he had the means to tip people in a way that might help them out a little. Nothing crazy of course, at least not yet – he was sure there would come a time when the sum him and Anna left to someone deserving would be life changing – but enough that the servers often gave them more than enough thanks and gratitude. 

Then there was the other little things Anna liked to do for people that he was starting to enjoy as well. Almost every time they went out to eat, she would pick a table and tell their waiter that they wanted to pay the bill for the nice people, but not to say anything until it was time for their cheque. That way, when the lucky table found out their evening out had been paid for, Kristoff and Anna were long gone, remaining mysterious benefactors. Often times she liked to pick people who were celebrating. Young, in-love looking couples were her favorite to treat to a dinner out, and the one time they happened to witness a proposal, Anna had sent over two desserts and a bottle of the restaurants finest Champaign as a congratulations in addition to paying for their whole meal.

Kristoff had asked her once if she ever liked to stay and watch the reactions of the people she was treating, but she shook her head. “It just makes me feel good to do these little things unexpectedly for people. I do it more for myself, really,” she had said and winked at him.

Her generosity continued to astound him, even though he had witnessed it many, many times. 

Instead of selling her coffee shop in Kamloops, she had decided to simply give it away. The beauty, came in how she handled it. She told Kristoff all about how the manager she had hired to look after the day-to-day was an absolute gem. She worked hard, often coming in on her weekends off if someone called in sick, and handled every aspect of the shop to a point where Anna never had to worry about if it was turning a profit. This manager, Shelly, was a single mother with two young boys, rocked when her husband of nearly fifteen years passed away suddenly from a stroke a couple of years prior. Anna had been telling Kristoff she had been helping her out here and there but wanted to do more. What better way to do that, she had decided, than to hand over ownership of the coffee shop that Shelly had ran so successfully. 

Anna invited Shelly out to dinner with her and Kristoff under the guise that she wanted to introduce Shelly to her new man, then casually dropped the bomb about half way through their entrées on her intentions.

Understandably, Shelly was taken aback. It took her a few minutes of Anna calmly explaining how everything would be transferred when she finally seemed to realize that this was indeed something that was happening. She had insisted of course, that it was far too grand of a gesture, to which Anna waived her hand and said ‘nonsense, I come from a family with money and I don’t need the shop anymore and I am simply too impatient to wait to sell it.’

Kristoff had watched this all without a word of course, amazed with the way Anna was conducting herself. There was nothing about her gestures and words that came off as sounding like she was being _charitable_ , which Kristoff could attest to that some prouder type people did not like. She was simply making Shelly take the reins because she was literally jumping out of the wagon. 

In the end it came to an agreement that Shelly would pay Anna for the business. The price; a loaf of her amazing chocolate chip banana bread and her grandmother’s recipe to go along with it. The next day, Shelly had met Anna in the coffee shop to sign all the paperwork with the loaf, the recipe, and a ten- page hand-written note of thanks.

Anna and Kristoff read the letter when they got home, both getting a little choked up at Shelly’s admittance that she was worried about providing for her boys with the loss of her husband. She also wrote about how she was eternally grateful for Anna’s kindness and generosity and apologetic that she would be unable to repay her in any way. As soon as they were done reading Anna got up and grabbed her phone. She placed a call and Kristoff listened as she told someone at the University of British Columbia that she was going to make a sizable donation, asking only that two letters of full-paid scholarships be drafted up for Shelly’s boys. She gave the person on the phone their names and the address she wanted to send them to and assured that she would put through the donation to the University right away. Kristoff was astounded to hear how much she was donating.

When she hung up the phone Kristoff was right there beside her, pulling her into his arms and kissing her with desperation. He was weirdly turned on by what she was doing and he knew it was not going to be the last time. He took her to their bedroom and made passionate love to her while he thought about how amazing she was and how fucking lucky he was that she loved him.

He threw another glance over his shoulder at Anna. She had rolled over and her bare back was facing him. It brought a smile to his face and he thought again about the crazy and wonderful night they had.

Anna had been in awe when the boarded the ship. She was a little ball of energy at his side, oohing and ahhing at everything. Kristoff had to admit, it was pretty surreal. He had never been on a cruise either.

When they found their suite, Anna squealed in delight as she quickly took in the room and then the view. After, she threw herself on the bed and giggled for Kristoff to join her. He placed their bags down and obliged, pulling Anna against him and kissing her. He had suspected that Anna’s first order of business would be to make love, and he was not wrong. 

Afterwards, laying under the sheets with happy grins, Anna asked Kristoff if he would take her dancing. He told her he would and that he had something else in mind as well. When Anna asked what it was, he remained coy but told her she was going to need the ball gown she had packed.

That night, Anna had stepped out of the bathroom in a sparkling, black, floor-length, strapless dress that made Kristoff’s jaw drop. He hair was styled and swept off her neck and the only jewelry she wore were a pair of dangling, diamond earrings. Paired with the smoky make-up she was wearing, she didn’t just ooze sex appeal, she was the embodiment of it.

Anna giggled as she grabbed a small black clutch off the bed. “Too much?”

Kristoff swallowed thickly. He was suddenly thinking about how many men were going to be ogling the woman he intended to marry and jealousy reared its ugly head. His eye twitched, actually twitched thinking about it. Then Anna walked up to him and grabbed his hand in hers.

All his sudden thoughts were replaced with a gentle calm. It didn’t matter how many people would be interested in her. She was his, just as he was hers. There was nothing that would ever come between them.

Anna reached up and adjusted his bowtie then smiled at him and told him he looked amazing. He chided himself for not already telling Anna she was an absolute vision and when he did so, Anna’s reaction had been to wink and tell him she already knew he thought that based on the reaction he gave her when she walked out of the bathroom.

With broad smiles they went to an elegant candle-lit dinner that Kristoff had pre-arranged. He had booked them a table for two with a view that was none other than breathtaking. After an exceptionally delicious meal, Kristoff lead her over to the dance floor and pulled her into his arms. All he knew how to do was a simple waltz and he led Anna around the other couples while the music played, loving every second of it because Anna was happy.

After some more dancing and some decadent chocolate cake that Anna ate most of, Kristoff took her on a stroll to the bow of the ship. He hadn’t thought much about what to say, wanting to speak from his heart instead. When he got down on one knee, he had the briefest moment of panic where he couldn’t think of anything to say at all, then Anna’s eyes welled up with tears and he made himself start talking.

“Anna, you are hands-down the most amazing person I have ever met. You are so genuinely kind, and generous, and gorgeous, and your heart is so…” he shook his head, struggling to put into words the things he felt about her. “You have the most beautiful heart, Anna, and you deserve all the best and most wonderful things in life. I will live every day trying to give you all you deserve, Anna, and be the best husband I can be to someone as incredible as you. Will you marry me?”

Anna nodded yes as Kristoff looked up into her shimmering eyes. He took the ring from the box and slid it on her waiting finger, then Anna threw herself into his arms. They hugged for a long time, neither one of them seeming to want to leave the moment. It was Anna who finally moved first, pulling back and looked up into Kristoff’s eyes.

“I am the luckiest woman in the world to be loved by someone as wonderful as you, Kristoff.”

That choked him up, more for the reason that he felt strongly that he was the luckiest man alive to have her love. He told her just that while tears formed in his eyes.

“We are both lucky Kristoff,” Anna teared up again with him. “We are lucky that we found each other.”

Kristoff agreed with her as he pulled them both to their feet. He kissed her passionately before proposing a celebratory toast. Anna loved the idea and they where soon in the classy lounge attached to the fancy restaurant, clinking flutes of Champaign together and toasting their future. Anna then told the bartender that they were celebrating and the next two rounds for everyone in the bar was on them.

They received a lot of cheers and shouts of congratulations from happy bar-goers while they sipped their drinks and talked about all the fun things they wanted to do during their cruise. After the bottle of Champaign and two glasses of wine each they walked back to their room, slightly drunk and happier than either of them had been in their lives.

Back in their room Anna announced that she wanted to be comfortable and immediately slithered out of her dress. Kristoff took in her near naked body and her coy smile as she sat on the bed, released her hair, then beckoned him to her. With a smirk he undid his bowtie as he walked over to her. Anna watched him intently as he removed all his clothes then leaned over her.

It was one of the most passionate nights they had had together. Afterwards, they fell asleep with their naked bodies pressed comfortably together and barely moved an inch until Kristoff woke up just as the sun was cresting the horizon. 

A sound behind him pulled him from his thoughts and he turned to see Anna come out onto the balcony wrapped up in the sheet from the bed.

“Good morning, my future husband,” she smiled at him.

“Good morning, my future wife,” Kristoff grinned back as he slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

“Anything special planned for today?” she asked, sighing against him and twisting to wrap her arms around his waist.

“Nope. We can do whatever we feel like today.”

Anna rolled her eyes up in thought for a moment. “Okay, I say first we have a shower together, then we head to breakfast. We can figure the rest out after that.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Kristoff replied with a big smile before bending down and kissing his fiancé.


End file.
